Victoria has declared 11 Queensland local government areas red zones under the state’s traffic light permit system.
Key points:
- The declaration is effective from 8:00pm on July 31
- It applies to the same 11 local government areas placed into a snap three-day lockdown
- South Australia and Norfolk Island have just moved from red to orange zones under the permit system
The change applies to the City of Brisbane, Moreton Bay Regional Council, City of Gold Coast, City of Ipswich, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Logan City, Noosa Shire Council, Redland City, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council and Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
The declaration is in response to the snap lockdown declared earlier on Saturday in the sunshine state.
The red zone declaration means Victorians returning home from the affected areas after 8:00pm on July 31Â must quarantine for 14 days.
Non-residents are effectively barred from entering the state without an exemption or an exception.
People who arrive before 8:00pm on July 31 must abide by the orange zone rules in place before the cut-off and get tested and isolate on arrival.
Under the traffic light system, anyone coming into Victoria must fill out a border permit form, even if they are coming from a green zone.
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A day earlier, South Australia and Norfolk Island were downgraded from red to orange zones.
This means travellers from South Australia and Norfolk Island must apply for an orange zone permit, isolate on arrival in Victoria, get tested within 72 hours and remain in isolation until they receive a negative result.
People who arrived from those areas while they were red zones and since returned a negative test result will be released from quarantine.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton had earlier said there was “a strong expectation that I will need to make changes in relation to the permit zones to south-east Queensland”.
Victoria follows other states and territories in tightening border rules with Queensland in response to its growing Delta outbreak.
New South Wales remains an “extreme risk zone”, a tougher level of control which was only added as that state’s outbreak worsened.
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