Three men have been issued court notices after allegedly trying to sneak back into Queensland from virus-ravaged Victoria without undergoing quarantine.

August 4, 2020

Another three people have been caught trying to dodge quarantine in Queensland after travelling from coronavirus-ravaged Victoria.

The men, aged 23, 25 and 29, failed to declare they had been to the hot spot when they crossed into the state at Coolangatta after allegedly spending several weeks in Melbourne.

Police placed the trio, from Logan south of Brisbane, into hotel quarantine, where they are awaiting their COVID-19 test results.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski says the men were carrying passes stating they had not been to a hotspot.

“One of those persons has been tested, yesterday, which exposed they had been in the Victorian area,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

All three have been issued with court notices and investigations are ongoing.

“It’s really, really disappointing … that people in our community are still telling lies and deliberately trying to mislead the system to get back into our state,” Mr Gollschewski said.

Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has asked police to investigate the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade document used by a man to claim a travel exemption.

The man flew from Kabul to Sydney, then onto the Sunshine Coast on Friday, but was not required to isolate for two weeks.

“We need it investigated and I have asked my department to talk to DFAT to clarify this,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

The man, who entered Australia claiming diplomatic status, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sunday and is now in self-isolation with his wife in Toowoomba.

A travel exemption for consular officials was agreed by the national cabinet of state and federal leaders in June.

However, it has since been revealed the man is not a consular staff member but a private security contractor.

Ms Palaszczuk said it was a serious incident that will be raised when the national cabinet next meets on Friday.

“There is a loophole here, and it needs to be closed,” she said.

It comes as health authorities continue their attempts to trace 14 people who were on the Jetstar flight with the man to Maroochydore on Friday.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said two passengers from the flight had left no contact details, as it was not a requirement on domestic routes.

“The airline cannot tell me how I can get hold of those people,” she said.

There were no new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Queensland overnight. Twelve cases remain active, with seven people in hospital.

More than 1.3 million border declarations have been issued since the state locked down its borders, with nearly 10,000 coronavirus tests conducted during the past 24 hours.

Police also issued an on-the-spot fine for a false declaration by a person trying to enter Queensland at Goondiwindi on the border with NSW.

In the past week, 10 people have been issued with notices to appear in court and another 400 cases are under investigation.