June 22, 2020
Queensland has updated the official list of Victorian COVID-19 “hotspots” which will affect the quarantine status of returning residents at the State border.
The declared hotspots now include all 31 Local Government Areas in Greater Melbourne, as well as five bordering LGAs – Murrindindi, Mitchell, Moorabool, Macedon Ranges and Greater Geelong.
The update to declared hotspots follows the recent increase in new COVID-19 cases in Greater Melbourne, along with several active outbreaks demonstrating community transmission and risk of community transmission within the Greater Melbourne region.
Anyone who has travelled to or lived in one of the declared hotspots within 14 days of travel to Queensland must self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering Queensland, unless the travel to Queensland is for a limited number of essential purposes.
Penalties apply for not complying with the direction.
However, Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport – which is located in a listed hotspot – has been exempted.
“Individuals entering the Hume Local Government Area for the sole purpose of accessing the airport or by virtue of a flight transiting through the airport are not considered to have ‘visited’ the hotspot,” Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has ruled.
“However, individuals who leave the airport and go out into the local community would be classified as visiting a hotspot whilst the area the airport is located remains a hotspot.”
NB. Hotspots in NSW which were listed in April are no longer declared.
- External link: COVID-19 Hotspots (Qld Health)
- Related article: COVID-19 ‘Hotspots’ Named
COVID-19 will continue to spread throughout the community until the wearing of masks becomes mandatory. Countries that adopted such a policy early on flatlined the spread of the virus. Some didn’t even have to introduce lockdowns.
Testing is a flawed policy. A person who has just been tested can easily become infected after being tested. You would have to undergo daily testing in order for testing to really work.
To defeat this virus we need:
* Mandatory wearing of masks
* Widespread use of hand sanitizer
* Social distancing
I’m amazed that this is not obvious to everyone.
And you don’t need N95/P2V masks. Ordinary surgical face masks will prevent people infected with any airborne virus from breathing it into the air around them.
Surgical masks are now readily available from places like the Chemist Warehouse, which also has N95 masks available.
Do yourself and the community a favour and go get a pack of masks and ensure you wear a mask whenever you go out in public.