November 15, 2021
Queensland has eased some COVID-19 border restrictions after reaching a vaccination milestone ahead of schedule.
However, authorities have warned there are still more than 820,000 eligible Queenslanders totally unvaccinated.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 70 per cent of the State’s population aged 16 and over had received a double dose of a COVID vaccine.
“Congratulations and thank you, Queensland,” the Premier said.
“We’ve now clicked over the 70 per cent double-dose mark, well ahead of the date we set ourselves. There are now more than three million Queenslanders fully vaccinated.
“This means we can relax some of our border restrictions for people travelling from hotspots.”
From 5:00pm on Monday, people in interstate hotspots can apply online to travel to Queensland and quarantine at home.
“People who have been in a hotspot in the past 14 days can now enter Queensland and home quarantine if they are fully vaccinated, are arriving by air, have had a negative COVID-19 test in the 72 hours prior to arriving and meet additional criteria,” the Premier said.
“Anyone can now apply if they believe they meet the eligibility criteria.”
Police will also be issuing emails to anyone already in the queue for a border pass to go online and reapply. This will include uploading a vaccination certificate. Once processed, border passes will be issued.
The Premier said while reaching the 70 per cent milestone was a good achievement, there was a lot of people still to be vaccinated.
“Our next target is reaching the 80 per cent double-dose mark, at which we will lift even more restrictions. Let’s do this, Queensland,” the Premier said.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said excellent attendance at pop-up vaccination clinics at schools on the weekend helped Queensland reach the target early.
“The turnout was excellent, with more than 9400 people getting their jabs at 58 schools this weekend,” Minister D’Ath said.
“We currently have more than 65 school pop-up clinics lined up for this weekend with more to add to the list this week, and I expect these will have a significant impact on our vaccination rates once again.
“We particularly want to reach people who are yet to receive their first vaccination. We know there are now more than 820,000 eligible Queenslanders aged 12 and over who are completely unprotected.
“Anyone aged 12 years and over can get vaccinated – and they need to before the border opens and restrictions come in for unvaccinated people. This should be their top priority.”
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Following the announcement by the NT Government on Monday afternoon of a snap lockdown in Katherine, Queensland Health has declared Greater Katherine and Robinson River (including surrounding homelands) a hotspot from 6:00pm on Tuesday (November 16).
This means anyone travelling to Queensland from the Greater Katherine region after then will need to arrive by air and provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result. Those with a suitable home will go into home quarantine for 14 days.
Anyone who does not have a suitable home or anyone who does not meet the eligibility for home quarantine will be required to complete the quarantine period in a government-arranged hotel.
Queensland Health strongly urges anyone who has arrived in Queensland from the Greater Katharine region between 6:00pm on Monday (November 15) until 6:00pm on Tuesday (November 16) to get a COVID-19 test as soon as practical and follow the same lockdown restrictions as those announced by the NT Government.
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