Queensland set to open border to Victorians from Friday - The Age

Melburnians will be able to enter Queensland from Friday, just in time for the school holidays.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the state will reopen to all Victorian travellers on Friday at 1am.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit:Attila Csaszar

“That is great news for people there,” she said during a COVID-19 update on Tuesday. “I know there are a lot of people that would have had their holidays booked to Queensland.”

Ms Palaszczuk said the state’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young felt “comfortable with the way Victoria is at, and we will keep a close eye on NSW.”

The update comes after Victoria recorded no new local cases on Tuesday and as New Zealand prepared to resume quarantine-free travel with the state.

There were two cases recorded in hotel quarantine on Tuesday. More than 13,000 COVID-19 test results were processed in the past 24 hours and more than 15,000 people received their vaccine doses.

In NSW, cases continue to grow. The state recorded 10 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Tuesday - five cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, two of which had already been reported. An additional seven cases were detected after 8pm.

Staff at Kirk’s Wine Bar in Melbourne prepare for the day’s trade. Credit:Getty Images

Another local coronavirus case was recorded in Victoria at the weekend. The total number of local coronavirus cases in the state as of Tuesday was 51.

Tuesday’s new case came after the Northern Territory revoked its designation of Greater Melbourne as a COVID-19 hotspot on Monday, meaning that visitors to the territory who have passed through the city would no longer need to quarantine on arrival.

Tasmania downgraded Melbourne to low-risk at 12.01am on Tuesday. People from Melbourne who visit the state will also no longer need to quarantine.

South Australia announced on Tuesday it would reopen to people from Greater Melbourne from 12.01am on Friday.

Victoria’s travel bubble with New Zealand, which snapped shut during the last lockdown, will resume from 11.59pm on Tuesday after the Ministry of Health in Wellington decided the remaining public health risk was low.

State’s Pfizer vaccine allocation to rise

Tuesday’s COVID-19 numbers come after a spokesperson for federal Health Minister Greg Hunt revealed late on Monday that Victoria’s allocation of Pfizer would increase from 407,000 doses in June to more than 560,000 in July.

Almost all of the increase will be for the state’s general practices, which have had few Pfizer vaccines up until now, with little additional supply for the mass vaccination clinics run by the Victorian government.

The July allocation will include 380,000 doses for the government to distribute and an additional 153,000 for Victorian GPs, taking their monthly total to 180,000 doses. A recent regulation change is paving the way for the vaccinations to occur at medical clinics, by allowing unopened vials to be stored in domestic freezers rather than ultra-cold freezers.

The improved vaccine supply came as GPs called for an advertising campaign to address “the real mess of messages” around the national rollout.

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Queensland set to open border to Victorians from Friday - The Age
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