After having a go at other states for wanting to keep their borders closed, the NSW government has since decided that it too supports certain border restrictions, actually.
In response to Victoria witnessing a second wave of coronavirus community transmission, NSW Deputy Premier John Barlaro told the Seven Network on Monday that he was open to imposing certain border restrictions on the state.
“We’re trying to get out of the COVID crisis, we’re lifting restrictions and now there’s a real threat from Victoria,” he said.
“Maybe some sort of limits around travel, but maybe not closing the border as a whole.
“It’s more about who’s coming across the border and what we will do about it.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian later told reporters that no hard border closures were on the cards, although she did reiterate the warning not to travel between NSW and Victoria.
“We would recommend nobody travel to those hotspots and certainly the Victorian government and Victorian health experts have also suggested to people living in those hotspots not to travel around,” she said.
“We obviously strongly endorse that.
“I appreciate what Victoria is going through but don’t assume that it won’t happen in NSW or anywhere else […] it can happen very quickly, just with a couple of cases, a couple of instances of people spreading the virus unintentionally.”
NSW has almost flatlined when it comes to community transmission, reporting just two new cases in the past 24 hours. However, Victoria has recorded over 10 new cases each day for the last week, and there are now over 100 active cases in the state.
Despite the claims of some, none of the infections in either state have been traced to the Black Lives Matter rallies.
South Australian Health Minister Stephen Wade also said he’d renege on the state’s plans to reopen its border with Victoria next month if things didn’t come under control soon.
“If the situation doesn’t change, the borders are not opening,” he said.
“We are not going to open our borders to Victoria unless it’s safe to do so.”
