STAY-at-home requirements imposed by the ACT government on travellers in response to the Queensland government’s sudden hard lockdown, have been extended. 

The stay-at-home requirement will now end on 4pm Sunday (August 8), in line with the Queensland government’s lockdown, and applies to all travellers who have spent any time in the local government areas on or after July 21, including:

• Brisbane City Council
• Gold Coast City Council
• Ipswich City Council
• Lockyer Valley Regional Council
• Logan City Council
• Moreton Bay Regional Council
• Noosa Shire Council
• Redland City Council
• Scenic Rim Regional Council
• Somerset Regional Council
• Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

ACT residents that have spent time in any of these areas on or after 21 July 2021, you will be required to complete an online declaration form within 24 hours prior to arriving in the ACT or within 24 hours from the commencement of the new stay-at-home requirements, travel directly to the residence where they will spend the stay-at-home period, and wear a mask if leaving the premises for any of these essential purposes, except if undertaking vigorous exercise outdoors. Mask wearing is not required for children aged 12 or under.

An ACT government spokesperson says essential reasons to leave the house include:

• to undertake essential work or study if you cannot work or study from home or remotely
• for students to attend usual school and out of school hours care arrangements if a mask is worn (children aged 12 and under are not required to wear a mask)
• to attend usual childcare arrangements, where parents or guardians need to undertake essential work or study
• to shop for essentials like groceries, medicine and necessary supplies
• to attend to medical or health care needs including compassionate requirements, and looking after the vulnerable
• to get a COVID-19 vaccine if you are not isolation or quarantine and have a scheduled appointment
• to exercise outdoors, limited to one hour per day
• for essential animal welfare purposes (e.g. to feed pets or livestock that live elsewhere)
• leaving due to an emergency.

“If you have been in one of these Queensland LGAs, you must abide by the stay-at-home requirement until at least 4pm Sunday (August 8) or until 14 days have passed since you left south-east Queensland, and you have been contacted by ACT Health to advise you have been released from the requirement,” says an ACT government spokesperson.   

“If you are a non-ACT resident, and are seeking to travel to the ACT whilst the restrictions are in place, you must not enter the ACT without an approved exemption. Exemptions will only be granted for exceptional circumstances, and even if an exemption is approved, you will still be required to follow the stay-at-home requirement while you are in the ACT.

“The COVID-19 situation in Queensland is fast evolving and we are continuing to monitor it closely. It is possible these restrictions on arrivals from Queensland may need to be tightened further to protect the ACT community, and people should be prepared for this to happen at short notice.”