New South Wales couple dodge 14-day quarantine in Victoria after landing in Melbourne - Daily Mail

Young couple from NSW are on the run after allegedly fleeing officers at Melbourne airport when they were told they would have to do 14 days of quarantine

• New South Wales couple flew from Canberra to Melbourne Airport on Friday
• An authorised officer said the 24 and 26-year-old would have to quarantine
• Police allege the couple then fled the airport in a van before going to Sunsbury
• Couple arrived before Victoria closed its border to all of NSW residents  

By Aidan Wondracz For Daily Mail Australia and Australian Associated Press

Published: 22:13 GMT, 1 January 2021 | Updated: 22:22 GMT, 1 January 2021

A New South Wales couple allegedly flew into Victoria and fled the airport in a van after they were told they would need to quarantine for 14 days.  

A 26-year-old man and 24-year-old woman caught a flight from Canberra before landing at Melbourne Airport just before 11am on Friday.

An officer allegedly approached the pair before advising them they would have to quarantine for 14 days.

The couple allegedly arrived just before Victoria introduced its hard border closure to all NSW residents at 11.59pm on New Years Day.

Any NSW residents who arrived in Victoria before that time was ordered to self-isolate for 14 days regardless of test results for Covid-19.

Though police are accusing the pair of running from the officer and fleeing the airport in a van.

A New South Wales couple allegedly flew into Victoria and fled the airport in a van after they were told they would need to quarantine for 14 days (pictured, police are looking for this 24-year-old woman)

A 26-year-old man (pictured) and 24-year-old woman caught a flight from Canberra before landing at Melbourne Airport just before 11am on Friday 

They are believed to be staying somewhere in the Sunbury area, about 40 kilometres north west of Melbourne.

Police have released photos of the couple and urge anyone with information to come forward. 

Thousands of Victorians cut short their NSW holidays and joined a mad rush to get home ahead of the coronavirus border shutdown.

The southern state's border decision on Thursday prompted traffic bottlenecks as people raced to beat the Friday midnight closure.

Once in Victoria, Covid-19 testing sites saw long queues as travellers lined up for mandatory testing.

Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania have all hardened their borders as a result of fresh cases in recent days.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he respects the decisions of state and territory leaders to shut their borders but understands why people have been left frustrated.

'As much as we would like there to be greater consistency across all of these things, we must respect the states' jurisdictional authority,' Mr Morrison told reporters on Friday.

'They are ultimately responsible for what would happen in their state if there were to be an outbreak in their state.

Police say the pair from New South Wales ran from the authorised officer and fled the airport in a van

Thousands of Victorians cut short their NSW holidays and joined a mad rush to get home ahead of the coronavirus border shutdown (pictured, a border checkpoint in Mallacoota)

'As prime minister, I do respect that.' 

Western Australia has re-established its hard border with Victoria, which recorded two new cases on Friday reportedly linked to an 10-strong outbreak.

The rise in Sydney cases prompted the Northern Territory to revise its public health orders on Thursday and bar entry for all Greater Sydney residents.

South Australia also re-established its hard border with NSW, along with a 100km buffer for border communities.

Tasmania has declared Greater Sydney and the Wollongong area as medium-risk zones requiring travellers from there to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, while those from Sydney's Northern Beaches are barred from entering.

Mr Morrison urged states to balance the risks of Covid-19 transmission with disruptions caused to people.

He has previously hit out at some states for their border management, criticising WA's decision to shut last year as 'economic protectionism'.

Victoria's border decision on Thursday prompted traffic bottlenecks as people raced to beat the Friday midnight closure (pictured, a border checkpoint at Mallacoota on New Year Eve when the hard borders were announced)

COVID TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FOR NEW SOUTH WALES

• Western Australia - All NSW residents are banned from entering WA. Anyone who enters the state will be 'sent back', according to Premier Mark McGowan. 
• Victoria - A hard border has been put up, with the entire state of NSW declared a red zone. If people cross into Victoria before 11.59pm on New Year's Eve, they must self- isolate until they test negative. If they enter before 11.59pm on New Year's Day, they must self-isolate for 14 days regardless of test results. If they cross into the state after January 1, they must spend two weeks in mandatory hotel quarantine.
• Northern Territory - The state has declared greater metropolitan Sydney as a Covid-19 hotspot, and travellers will need to undergo 14 days of supervised quarantine.
• South Australia - Harder border closure to all NSW residents from midnight on New Year's Eve. Returning South Australians must quarantine for 14 days. A 100km border buffer zone, including Broken Hill and Wentworth, will be exempt.
• Queensland - Queensland has shut its borders to Greater Sydney, Wollongong and the Central Coast. Locals returning to the Sunshine State from a hotspot must isolate. 
• ACT - Anyone travelling to the ACT from a Covid-19 hotspot in NSW will now require an exemption. People from Sydney's Northern Beaches, Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong will not be legally permitted to enter the ACT without a valid pass from midday on Saturday January 2.
• Tasmania - Northern Beaches residents banned. All people from Greater Sydney must also quarantine upon entry.  

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2021-01-01 22:13:00Z
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