“With increased vaccination coverage and community acceptance of COVID-19,the need for dedicated isolation facilities or for any contingency capacity to be held has decreased,” Miles told the state development and regional industries committee on Wednesday.
“Queensland’s Chief Health Officer and Queensland Health have advised the Queensland government there is no longer a public health requirements for dedicated government provided quarantine and isolation facilities.”
Miles said he understood this was consistent with the health advice given inother jurisdictions,and his government had advised its federal counterpart itwould not need the Pinkenba site. The state’s quarantine management taskforce and quarantine management program board will also be disbanded.
“[Queensland Regional Accommodation Centre] will be placed in care and maintenance under similar arrangements to those at Howard springs in the Northern Territory. It will cease hosting guests from 1 August,but will remain available should the pandemic response settings change,” he said.
“We will consider other uses for the remainder of the QRAC lease.”
The future of the Commonwealth quarantine site,announced before Queensland’scontroversial decision to work with Toowoomba’s Wagner Corporation to help build — and lease back — the site there,has beenclouded in questions for months as pandemic management efforts shifted. Similar questions have beenraised about the Wellcamp site.