February 24, 2021
Queensland will remove New Zealand as a “safe travel country” from Wednesday night (February 24).
This follows increased community transmission of COVID-19 in NZ.
At 9:00am on Wednesday, there were 62 confirmed cases reported in the country, including 11 linked to community transmission.
From 6:00pm on Wednesday, all “green flights” coming into Queensland from New Zealand will stop immediately and travellers from New Zealand will need to complete quarantine.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said this had to be done to protect the health of all Queenslanders.
“Unfortunately, over the past few days New Zealand has been recording some new positive cases, which is why we are closing the border from 6:00pm,” she said.
“Anyone who is permitted to travel to Queensland from New Zealand will be required to quarantine on arrival.
“Acting with an abundance of caution has kept Queenslanders safe and that’s exactly the path we will continue to take.”
“We are also recommending all travellers who have been in New Zealand since February 21 to come forward, get tested and isolate until you have your results. This applies to anyone who has entered from February 6 who has not already had a test after entering Queensland.
“New Zealand is working very hard to contain this community transmission, but they are still in a critical stage of their response so we need to keep watching closely.
“Things can change really quickly with this virus – we’ve seen that in other countries around the world, which is why I am asking Queenslanders to reconsider their need to travel to New Zealand.”
