Queensland police to use road blocks to enforce strict border closure measures
The Queensland border will soon close to people not travelling for work, medical appointments or carrying freight.
All others will be asked not to make the journey as the state government closes the border to stop the spread of COVID-19 from midnight on Wednesday.
Border travel will be policed in an RBT-style with officers stationed to determine who needs to cross and allowing them through quickly.
Officials are working with airlines to ensure passengers will know what will happen when they arrive in Queensland before they board flights.
Travelling from Tweed to Coolangatta for work is allowed.
Police out in force immediately
Queensland State Disaster Coordinator Steve Gollschewski said on Tuesday police would waste no time in cracking down on the strict “no entry” policy as soon as it applied.
“You will see police officers and other officials, government officials, out on the road as of one minute past midnight tomorrow night making sure that these measures work,” he said.
“If any person is allowed to come into Queensland, they have to recognise that if they don't have these reasons to come into us, an essential purpose, they will be required to do 14 days self-quarantine regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not.”
He urged the public to prepare for a heavy police presence on the road as the state’s border closed.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday) night you will see visible presence of police. What we're doing in here is trying to get our community to comply with what we're trying to achieve,” he said.
“If we find that people are compliant with the measures we put in place tomorrow night, we will stick with that. If not, we will increase the restrictions.”
Mr Gollschewski said in the early phases police would be taking a “compassionate” approach to people not complying in favour of ensuring everyone was across what was expected of them.
“We're taking a very compassionate approach. This is really about information to start with, to make sure people understand what is expected of them,” he said.
“But of course, if people choose to do the wrong thing, police always have the powers at their disposal to deal with poor behaviour.”
Funds to cover health needs
A $4 billion package has also been announced to cover the state's additional health needs and relieve financial pressure on households and businesses.
It includes $1.2 billion to double Queensland's intensive care capacity and triple its emergency department capacity.
That money will also be used to expand fever clinics on demand and rapidly deploy hundreds of hospital beds if and when they are needed.
Community testing and contact tracing will be extended.
The money will also boost the 13 HEALTH phone service and continue non-urgent elective surgeries.
Another $300 million will go towards reducing the cost of living for households and further funding for payroll tax relief for businesses.
A program will also be established to help workers who have lost their jobs find employment in industries that desperately need staff, like healthcare, cleaning and agriculture.
- with AAP
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