Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Qld border busy despite ban on NSW and Vic
Queensland Police say travellers continue to arrive at the state’s borders in “extraordinary” numbers, with 4575 vehicles stopped by officers in one day.
August 14, 2020
Travellers continue to arrive in Queensland in “extraordinary” numbers despite the state’s tough coronavirus border controls, police say.
Officers checked 65 flights with more than 2600 passengers at Queensland airports on Thursday, with five people refused entry and 142 quarantined.
On the roads, police stopped 4575 vehicles at the border, turning around 253 and ordering 54 people to isolate.
“There’s an extraordinary amount of people still coming into Queensland,” Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters.
“We’re getting people literally moving to the state.”
Ms Carroll said there were also about 2900 in mandatory hotel quarantine.
“The number is just incredible,” she said.
“These are challenging times.”
It comes as police admitted “systems failed” when Aaron Sydney Green, 25, slipped past officers to escape mandatory hotel quarantine in Toowoomba.
He surrendered himself on Wednesday, two days after walking out of the hotel. He had been nine days into his two-week isolation period.
Officers stationed at the hotel didn’t realise Green had fled until Tuesday.
“My concerns lie in the fact we have had this issue where someone wasn’t found missing until the day later,” Ms Carroll said.
“If we had a very robust system … with good governance, this would not have occurred.”
Queensland’s borders are currently closed to people from NSW and Victoria.