Many forced to cancel family reunions and holidays amid requirement to return a negative test 72 hours before arrival
Heartbroken families are being forced to cancel Christmas and holiday plans asAlmost 260,000 Australians have crossed the border into Queensland since Monday but many more have been turned away and sent home or forced to cancel family reunions and expensive holiday bookings because of testing delays.
Palaszczuk told reporters that 10% of those tests were for people making their way to Queensland, but NSWThe deputy premier, Steven Miles, said on Tuesday there would not be an extension of the 72-hour test window. He said he was aware of the long wait times to even get the test interstate.Casey Van Soest, her partner Luke Van Soest and daughter Xara Wademan, from Sydney’s south-west, are all stuck waiting at the NSW side of the border after a delay in their test results.
“They’ve left their accommodation that they stayed in last night, in anticipation that the results would be back by now. The plan was to travel on today over the border but no one has told them when to expect the results back. But with accommodation being snapped up by the many travellers in similar situations, they have had to resort to waiting in their car for the results.
“The situation is obviously not helpful, and is acting as a deterrent. But we are still hoping demand will overwhelm concern at this point.”