Hotel quarantine to reopen early for 50 Qld families amid travel pause

Queensland will reopen hotel quarantine for 50 families from Saturday as it begins to ease a two-week pause on the travel of returning residents and those moving to the state.

The move comes as the state reported on Wednesday just one new case of COVID-19 in a returned traveller, themselves in hotel quarantine, from more than 11,000 tests.

Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk said more hotel rooms would be added as they became available.Credit:Matt Dennien

Speaking in Parliament, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland had now weathered 16 potential outbreaks since June and she stressed the need to try keeping the virus out of the state but said “no one pretends” it would not return.

But after facing pressure over a decision to allow the travel of a charter flight carrying NRL families and officials from Sydney into a league-hired hotel bubble, Ms Palaszczuk said the state would start reopening hotel quarantine from interstate hotspots.

“As of Saturday, Queensland residents can begin returning from interstate hotspots in hotel quarantine,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Numbers in hotel quarantine hotel have only slightly eased, so we can offer places to 50 families as a start, and we will add more places as rooms become available.”

The state announced the pause on arrivals from NSW, Victoria and the ACT last Wednesday with two hours’ notice, with those already approved to travel under right-of-entry provisions for residents and those moving to the state told they would need to reapply under a to-be-established booking system.

It is unclear at this stage how the 50 hotel places will be allocated.

Next week, Queensland will also begin a trial of home quarantine to allow boarders from schools in hotspot regions to return to their families in time for the September school holidays.

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Matt is a reporter with Brisbane Times, covering city council and urban affairs.

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