The Melbourne couple who fled lockdown and travelled through NSW to Queensland may face charges amid rising anger at their three-state road trip.
The husband and wife both tested positive to COVID this week, while staying with the woman’s parents in Caloundra, on the Sunshine Coast.
So far, there is no sign of any community transmission of the coronavirus in Queensland after couple’s journey, which took in regional towns across NSW and the sunshine state.
They are known to have visited sites in Gillenbah, Dubbo, Forbes and Moree, Goondiwindi, Toowoomba and the southern Sunshine Coast.
In total about 400 people have been forced into isolation and are getting tested as a result of the couple’s arrival.
Three of their close contacts, including the woman’s parents, have returned negative coronavirus tests.
Queensland authorities said there were no new local cases in the state on Friday, from almost 6000 tests in the past 24 hours. NSW Health is yet to report figures for Friday.
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The couple are being investigated by police, after leaving suburban Melton, in Melbourne’s outer-west, on June 1 to drive to the Sunshine Coast.
“They shouldn’t have left Victoria, and you know it just puts people at risk,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Friday.
“I know there’s an investigation into that, I don’t want to jeopardise that investigation.”
Queensland Police said interviews with the couple had so far been confined to contact tracing issues. They will not be interview about any possible offence until health authorities give the all-clear – likely within a week.
The husband and wife were moving permanently to Queensland, where the man had a new job.
The woman developed symptoms first, on June 3. They did not arrive in Caloundra until June 5 – with Melbourne’s COVID lockdown lasting until Friday (June 10).
Sunshine Coast mayor Mark Jamison said there was anger in the community about the risk they’ve been exposed to.
“People are obviously angry and annoyed that somebody would put the health of this region and others at risk by foolishly taking that trip from Melbourne through NSW to the Sunshine Coast,” he told the Nine network.
“Clearly it’s had an impact on the business community in and around Caloundra, particularly at the exposure sites. That’s caused great inconvenience for those operators.
“But people generally are just angry at the fact that someone, I guess, could be so foolish.”
On Thursday, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the Victorian couple had presented “real and present danger” to regional communities
Federal Defence Minister Peter Dutton said communities in Queensland and those on alert in NSW were enduring an anxious wait.
“It really is quite unbelievable that somebody could be so irresponsible and the consequences so dire if it turns out that people have been infected on the trail all way up to Queensland,” he told Nine on Friday.
“I think the vast majority of Australians have made a huge sacrifice, doing the right thing and when you see people that aren’t it makes them very angry.”
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young has expressed some optimism that community transmission might be avoided in the state, because the couple were in the late stages of their infections when they crossed the border at Goondiwindi.
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino has said the couple did not breach state restrictions by leaving, and moving interstate is allowed during lockdowns.
Dr Young has said the couple did not apply for a travel exemption to enter Queensland and it was up to police to investigate whether they came through under any other process.
-with AAP
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