Post-quarantine COVID testing to be discussed at national cabinet

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State and Territory leaders and the Prime Minister will look at introducing day 16 post-quarantine testing in an emergency national cabinet meeting as cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant grow around the country.

The leaders will also discuss mandating vaccinations for aged care staff, testing and vaccinating all people working directly or indirectly in the quarantine system, and banning the practice of allowing low-risk travellers to quarantine near high-risk international travellers.

International return travellers arriving at hotel quarantine in Melbourne.Credit:Jason South

A mine worker who quarantined near international travellers caught the coronavirus before travelling to a gold mine in the Northern Territory. Now six cases have been linked to that mine cluster, including one mine worker who had returned to Queensland.

Queensland recorded two new cases on Monday, including that mine worker, and introduced restrictions for several local government areas, including mandatory mask-wearing.

Victoria and Western Australia recorded no new locally acquired cases on Monday morning.

No time has been set for the National Cabinet meeting.

The federal cabinet’s national security committee is also meeting on Monday morning with a specific COVID agenda, particularly to consider the outbreaks, a government spokesman said.

More to come.

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