Under the reopening plan,at the 70 per cent vaccination mark anyone who has been in a hotspot,such as Sydney or Melbourne,can enter Queensland if they are fully vaccinated,have a negative test result and arrive by air. They must also undertake home quarantine.
At the 80 per cent mark,expected by December 17,people from a hotspot can come to Queensland under the same conditions but will not have to go through home quarantine.
Queensland will still require anyone who arrives from overseas to do 14 days quarantine,even if they are vaccinated,and even if they arrive in a different state and travel to Queensland from there.
However,once the state hits 90 per cent fully vaccinated,expected early next year,fully vaccinated travellers from interstate and overseas will be able to enter Queensland without quarantining.
Unvaccinated travellers will still not be able to enter Queensland at the 70 and 80 per cent thresholds,but will be allowed to travel at the 90 per cent mark if they quarantine for 14 days.
Queensland recorded its 13th day of no local cases of COVID-19 on Monday,but Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young warned that would not stay that way once the borders were reopened.
She said vaccination was the best way to guard against that,with the chance of becoming seriously ill dropping drastically in vaccinated people.
Dr Young said the state had done detailed worst-case scenario modelling which showed Queensland could see up to 1200 cases per day once it was fully opened.
“But I very much doubt that because that is absolutely the worst case scenario without putting any mitigating factors in place,” Dr Young said.
“It’s a really detailed modelling and you should look at it when it’s released.”
Dr Young said even under the worst case scenario,she believed the state’s hospital system had the capacity both in emergency departments and ICU beds to handle a surge in case numbers putting strain on the system.
Treasurer Cameron Dick also warned that at the 80 per cent threshold,federal funding for businesses forced into lockdown would cease,which he said was another incentive for communities to ensure as many people were vaccinated as possible.
“For almost 600 days we have kept the virus out of Queensland,” he said. “Those days will soon come to an end. This will be the end of the zero COVID for Queensland.”
On Monday,the state was sitting on a little over 56 per cent of people fully vaccinated,while 72.26 per cent have had one dose.