An MP is criticising Queensland's border closure saying people are being prevented from travelling to interstate funerals, but a farm worker, who tested positive for COVID-19 after flying from Melbourne, entered the state without needing to quarantine.
A farm worker remains the only positive COVID-19 case in Bundaberg, with 119 of his contacts so far testing negative to the disease.The patient entered Queensland as an exempt seasonal worker from Melbourne on 1 June and spent time in Brisbane before flying to Bundaberg the following day
He travelled from Melbourne via Brisbane last week to work on the SSS Strawberry farm and was able to begin work under exemptions for essential workers in Queensland.Chief Health Officer, Jeannette Young, said the 119 negative results included 18 close contacts in Brisbane and 101 coworkers in Bundaberg."We're very happy with the results so far, and with the great response from the farming business, the patient's contacts, and the Wide Bay community," Dr Young said.
"I've had people in my office for months wanting to go to a funeral … but we wouldn't let people go across the border," he said."If someone gets off a plane in Bundaberg, why are they not tested?""There is going to be breakouts whether we open the borders or not … we can [open the border] if we're sensible about how we test and how we manage ourselves," he said.
Sweet Potatoes Australia's logistics manager, Allan Mahoney, said the Greensills Farming Group operation at Bundaberg adopted the practice early in the pandemic.
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