26 May 2021

Dear colleagues,

The Queensland Government has put new restrictions in place overnight in response to the growing numbers in the Melbourne outbreak.

Queensland will declare the City of Whittlesea local government area a COVID-19 hotspot from 1am 27 May 2021, as the cluster has grown to nine cases with more cases expected to be diagnosed in the coming days.

The following new measures have been put in place:

1. From 1am today, Wednesday 26 May, anyone arriving into Queensland who has been in the City of Whittlesea local government area since 11 May will go into hotel quarantine unless they have a valid exemption.
2. From 1am today, Wednesday 26 May, restrictions apply to Queensland prisons, aged care facilities, disability accommodation services and hospitals. Anyone who has been in Greater Melbourne on or after 11 May cannot enter these facilities unless 14 days have passed since they were in Greater Melbourne or unless they have a negative test result for COVID-19. This includes our staff. Please click here for the updated Hospital Visitors Direction.
3. From 1am tomorrow, Thursday 27 May, everyone arriving from Victoria will be required to complete a border pass. Any one of those arrivals who have been in a hotspot (currently known to be the City of Whittlesea local government area) since 11 May and are a non-resident will be turned away unless they have an exemption to enter the state. Queensland residents, or those given an exemption to enter the state, will go into hotel quarantine.

Anyone who has been to a declared COVID-19 interstate exposure venue in the previous 14 days during the risk period will be required to enter Hotel Quarantine.

Anyone who is planning to visit Victoria, in particular Greater Melbourne, should reconsider their need to travel.

• Click here for a list of Victorian exposure sites.
• Click here for more information on the Interstate Exposure Venues Direction.
• Click here for a list of declared hotspots.

All facilities will be required to have appropriate signage at all key entrances, which will be facilitated through Metro North. This will ensure, where possible, no visitors enter who have been to Greater Melbourne in accordance with the direction.

As always, if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, please get tested immediately and isolate until you have received a negative result.

Kind regards,

Alanna Geary
Metro North Incident Controller

Metro North HHS – overview of cases*

* As at 26/05/2021 900
** Metro North has four recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North.