Coronavirus: Victorians fined huge sums for trying to cross Queensland border
People trying to enter Queensland from Victoria have been criticised over their “selfish” antics after the Sunshine State opened its border to everyone except them on Friday.
Queensland opened its borders at midday on Friday to interstate travellers, apart from those who had been in Victoria in the past 14 days, for the first time since March 25.
Six Victorians who lied on their border declaration forms and tried entering Queensland on Saturday after being in a coronavirus hotspot were fined $4000 each and denied entry to the state, the ABC reported.
Police determined through photos and location searches on their phones that the group had not been working in NSW as they had claimed, and had actually been in Victoria in the 14 days prior.
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told Today on Monday that people blatantly breaking the rules were “selfish”.
“They think they can gain the system and get around it by sneaking across or filling a false declaration. That will cost them a lot of money. The worst thing is that they're putting others at risk,” he told the program.
“How do they know whether they have caught [COVID-19] or not? The issue for us is, of course, keeping COVID out of Queensland.”
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said police had intercepted 32,000 vehicles entering Queensland since July 3 and turned away 1542 people.
Coronavirus Bondi: Outrage as house party shut down amid virus fears
'You will get caught': Premier's warning as cases continue to soar
Sydney pub cluster grows as another hotel linked to virus cases
More than 4500 fly into Queensland on the weekend
Queensland's airports are also teeming with interstate arrivals keen to soak up the sun and warmer weather, and at least 4500 people touched down over the weekend.
Mr Gollschewski said about 500,000 people from across the country had downloaded the week-long border pass needed to enter Queensland.
Despite heavy fines and clear public messaging telling Victorians not to enter, Mr Gollschewski said there were still a lot of people trying to enter Queensland illegally.
“The message is, if you've been to Victoria in the last 14 days you can't come to Queensland.”
Victoria recorded 177 new cases on COVID-19 on Monday, as the residents of Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire continue to be subject to stage three restrictions, set to remain until at least August 19.
People in those areas are only allowed to leave home for food and supplies, receive or provide care, exercise, and study or work if they can't do so from home.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
