Legislation will be amended this week to introduce a sanction of up to six months in prison for people who flout the public health directions.
He noted that 851 confirmed COVID-19 cases came from interstate or overseas, with only 220 transmitted locally.
“That underlines just how important our border restrictions have been—first, on those who have travelled from China; second, on those who travelled overseas; and, third, in March when we made the difficult decision to close our domestic borders ...” the Deputy Premier said.
Authorities are wary about the outbreaks in Victoria and the cluster around The Crossroads Hotels in southwestern Sydney. Now that Queensland’s southern border has reopened there is an increased risk of travellers bringing the virus to Queensland.
The state government will move to increase the penalty for anyone caught breaking the rules, with Deputy Premier Steven Miles saying fines between $1300 and $4003 are not enough of a deterrent.
“I hope that will demonstrate to the public just how serious we are about enforcing these measures,” he said on July 14.