The health and safety of Tasmanians remains our number one priority as we continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
With the situation in Queensland improving, the Greater Brisbane area will be classified as medium risk effective immediately, in line with public health advice.
This means that travellers from the Greater Brisbane area are allowed to come to Tasmania, but will still be required to quarantine either at a suitable residence, or in Government accommodation, at their own expense.
We will continue to monitor the situation in Queensland closely and subject to the situation in Brisbane continuing to improve, I am hopeful that by the end of the week, Greater Brisbane could return to being classified as low risk, meaning a return to unrestricted travel.
This is a cautious and prudent approach that reflects how transmissible the UK strain of the virus is and to ensure all contact tracing efforts have been exhausted.
The Greater Sydney area and Wollongong LGA will remain classified as medium risk for the time being, given the number of locally acquired cases seen yesterday in particular and the need to be confident that there aren’t any further undetected cases circulating in the community.
The situation in both states will be reviewed again this coming Friday.
All restrictions have also now been lifted from Victorian hotspots, meaning that all travellers from that State are now classified as low-risk and can enter Tasmania without quarantine.
Additionally, from this Friday, a Public Health Direction that face masks be worn on commercial flights in Tasmanian airspace, both from interstate and within the State, and at airports will come into force.
This includes indoors at check-in, bag drop and in retail outlets, as well as outdoor areas where other people are present such as when waiting for transport.
We will also be putting in place a Direction to support TT Line’s current policy requiring mask wearing on the Spirit of Tasmania and for it to apply to the seaport.
We continue to thank Tasmanians for doing the right thing and helping our State keep on top of COVID this summer.
Remember to keep washing your hands regularly, cover your coughs and sneezes, stay home if you’re unwell and keep those testing rates up – even if you have the mildest symptoms, please get a test.