Jabs for cross-border truck drivers now mandatory after spate of infections

Queensland’s decision to mandate vaccines for cross-border freight drivers will ease some of their testing requirements while increasing pressure for a national approach following a fresh scare from the sector, which authorities have been warning will likely be behind the next outbreak.

Seven instances of interstate drivers bringing the virus into Queensland have been reported since late August, so far with minimal spread and often with the drivers only active in the community for one or two days before testing positive or returning to NSW.

Under new rules, all truck drivers entering the state must have received their first vaccine dose by October 15.Credit:Krystle Wright 

But the latest case among four announced on Tuesday â€" a man who had been living in shared accommodation around inner-Brisbane for eight days while infectious â€" is a departure from such short stays. While much is still unknown about his circumstances or travel, several new contact tracing sites have already been listed.

“Regular testing has meant cases have been picked up quickly. But due to the nature of their work, we know that many freight workers and truck drivers are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

Under the new directions, all truck drivers entering the state, including those using a dedicated freight pass, must have received the first dose of a vaccine by October 15. Drivers must then have had their second dose, or have a booking for it, by November 15. A pop-up vaccination clinic will also begin operating at Tugun, on the Gold Coast, from Tuesday afternoon.

Those who have left their vehicle in a hotspot area have previously been required to give evidence of a test within the past 72 hours. This will be dropped in favour of a negative test within a week of entry and a rolling seven-day testing regime while operating in the state.

Gary Mahon, chief executive of peak industry body the Queensland Trucking Association, said it had been expecting the move after mandates from the Victorian, South Australian and West Australian governments.

The easing of some onerous testing requirements was welcome, but Mr Mahon said his organisation has still been pushing for the use of rapid antigen testing to help further reduce the strain after navigating months of strict border measures.

“Our fleets have turned themselves inside out to comply,” Mr Mahon said.

He believed vaccination rates among those regularly crossing the border were about 75 per cent after a recent push, and while some individuals may object, the industry needed to abide by the rules, as it had throughout the pandemic.

Several truck drivers blockaded the M1 in late August amid national protest actions against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

Both the Transport Workers’ Union and the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation have been calling for a nationally consistent approach to state and territory border rules and testing regimes, including paid vaccination leave under an epidemiologist-backed plan.

“We need national cabinet to urgently adopt [our] roadmap,” the union’s national secretary, Michael Kaine, said on Tuesday.

When asked on Tuesday whether there were plans to fast-track previously flagged rapid testing work as part of freight driver vaccination hubs, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the government would look at all options but would defer to the advice of Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young.

Ms D’Ath said she believed the matter would be raised at an upcoming meeting of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and national cabinet, but she raised concerns about the accuracy of such kits and the potential for giving people “false hope” that they were not infected.

Following approval from the medical regulator, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced on Tuesday that Australians would be able to buy the rapid testing kits to use at home from November 1, with work still under way from individual states and territories around how to report positive results.

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