Australia’s deputy chief medical officer says there’s no reason for borders to be shut as state leaders squabble over coronavirus-related border closures.
NSW will relax travel rules within the state from June 1 with regional travel allowed for interstate visitors and residents.
But Queensland is holding firm, telling its tourism industry to prepare for a likely September reopening of its state borders.
WA, SA and the NT are also maintaining hardline approaches on border closures amid fears of a second wave of infections.
Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly says the national health advisory committee has made no decision nor offered advice on state border closures.
“From a medical point of view, I can’t see why the borders are still closed,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Just 13 new cases were recorded over the past 24 hours, giving Australia 535 active cases out of its total of 7079, which includes 100 deaths.
South Australia and the ACT have no active cases, the NT has one but has not recorded a new infection in four weeks, while Western Australia has four and Queensland 12.
WA Premier Mark McGowan knows his tough stance is frustrating political leaders on the other side of the country.
“It might inconvenience the NSW premier and some people from the eastern states, but frankly, I don’t give a damn,” he said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the move would be an opportunity for her state as the tourism sector returns to life.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young flagged the possibility of borders remaining shut beyond September if infections weren’t controlled.
Professor Kelly said there would almost certainly be more cases found as the nation’s economy and society began reopening, but the system was designed to find them quickly and minimise the number of people in the chains of transmission.
South Australia will allow dining for up to 10 people in restaurants and cafes from June 5, three days earlier than planned.
The ACT will move to the second step of relaxing restrictions, allowing groups of up to 20, from May 29.
There have been almost six million downloads of the coronavirus contract tracing app, with Victorian and NSW health authorities confirming they have used the data for the first time.
Australian Associated Press