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After reporting its first 24-hour period of no new cases in 10 days, the Queensland Government has taken the decision to extend its border travel bubble to Moree in northern NSW.
The move follows complaints from Moree residents who haven't been able to see their children in southern Queensland boarding schools, as well as the recent burning down of the only supermarket in the nearby Queensland border town of Mungindi.
Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young told a press conference this morning she had been working very closely with her NSW counterpart, sharing information to help find a solution.
"With that information I'm very confident that Moree is a safe place to add into our border zone that we're looking at for New South Wales," Dr Young said.
"We know that's particularly important. I went and looked into it in great detail because unfortunately when that supermarket burnt down they didn't have a lot of options...the distances, if you look at them, it would be quicker for them to have travelled down into Moree."
She said the decision was made mainly because it was deemed safe to do so, remembering that the extension could potentially change.
"But at this point in time New South Wales does have control of their outbreak and they've been able to limit it to other parts of New South Wales," she said.
"The risk, of course, is that people in those other parts can travel up into the northern part of New South Wales, but I discussed that risk every single day with my counterpart in New South Wales."
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's message was "well done Queensland" after reporting zero new cases overnight, but emphasised the state was "not out of the woods yet" with 25 active cases.
The Premier also announced the launch of a special dedicated health unit for residents of northern New South Wales.
"There is a team of eight specialists that will that will involve doctors, nurses, paramedics and also social workers because this is often a distressing time for people," she said.
Dr Young noted 900 New South Wales residents were treated in Queensland hospitals last week.
"We are continuing to provide essential and emergency health care to people who live in northern New South Wales, because we've always done that," she said.
"Traditionally, Queensland provides that care. There has been no change to that."
The Premier added there was currently a team of 80 people working in the unit for exemptions.
Photo: VisitNSW
Updated at 9:47am AEST on 4 September 2020.
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