Victoria blocks all of New South Wales, WA reimposes hard border with Victoria

#State borders are locking down across #Australia as the #New #South #Wales COVID-19 cluster continues to spread.

#Victoria closes border to all of NSW

#Any #Victorian currently in the #Green #Zone in NSW will have until tomorrow night to come home.

#This does not include #Victorians in the #Blue #Mountains #City #Council and #Wollongong #City #Council local government areas, who must apply for a new permit and arrive before 11.59pm tonight, the government said.

#Any #Victorian, regardless of where they’re arriving from in #New #South #Wales, will need to get tested and then quarantine for 14 days after 11.59pm tomorrow.

#Acting premier #Jacinta #Allan said two new cases detected in #Victoria today are close contacts of existing positive cases and are currently quarantining.

The number of close contacts in quarantine is now more than 70.

#Victoria recorded five new community infections today following three yesterday.

“#We have to do everything we possibly can to lock in the situation we have here in #Victoria, keep ahead of where case numbers might be, especially in light of case numbers coming out of NSW and to protect the precious gains we have achieved over the course of 2020 here in #Victoria,” #Ms #Allan said.

The acting premier apologised for the hassle it would cause people.

“#This is going to cause some disruption for #Victorians who may be holidaying – we do apologise for this disruption – however these difficult decisions are about protecting the community, protecting and keeping case numbers low and doing everything we can to lock in the gains we made over the course of 2020, so we can move to 2021 and have a much better year for 2021.”

“The virus moves fast, we need to move faster.”

#All indoor gatherings at home were cut from 30 people to 15.

WA puts up hard border with #Victoria

The WA border will close to #Victorians from 12.01am on #January 1.

#Victoria has been declared a ‘medium risk’ in light of its eight recent cases.

#Victorians who arrived in WA from #December 21 will need to get tested and isolate.

#South #Australia has hard border with NSW

#Premier #Steven #Marshall made the announcement this morning.

#From midnight – 12.01am on #January 1 – travellers from NSW will be banned from entering #South #Australia, with few exceptions.

#Border passes will still be required and 14-day self-isolation will be enforced.

#Northern #Territory declares #Sydney hotspot

NT #Health #Minister #Natasha #Fyles said from midnight tonight, NT will declare greater metropolitan #Sydney a COVID-19 hotspot.

#Anyone arriving into the NT from greater metropolitan #Sydney from midnight tonight will go into mandatory quarantine.