Are we heading for QUEXIT? Calls for North Queensland to be closed off from the rest of Australia to stop the spread of coronavirus
- MP Bob Katter said all traffic but essential services should be closed off
- He argued economic impact would be minimal as tourism had already stopped
- Katter pointed towards the rapid spread of the virus in Italy as a warning
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Controversial MP Bob Katter has called for the entire of North Queensland to be quarantined to halt the spread of coronavirus.
Katter said the alarmingly fast spread of the virus in Italy, along with a personal close-call with the pandemic, had shown him quickly it could potentially infect the state.
‘There are 41,300 cases in Italy, 3,405 people have died so you can’t take this lightly,’ Katter said.
‘This is not some backward country, this is northern Italy, with one of the most sophisticated economies on earth along with Germany.
Controversial MP Bob Katter has called for the entire of North Queensland to be quarantined to halt the spread of coronavirus
The maverick MP headed off claims the shutdown would damage the economy by claiming the damage had already been done.
‘Quite frankly tourism and public travelling has dropped through the floor so there is not a lot more damage can be done
‘There are only four roads leading into Queensland, the ports are already quarantined and the airports would need to be quarantined.
The rogue federal MP headed off claims the shutdown would damage the economy by claiming the damage had already been done
The MP noted North Queensland had remained relatively untouched by the coronavirus but it had the tendency to multiply fast.
He also called for hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to be offered in the state at a rate of one per cent interest.
It comes after Tasmania effectively closed all boarders to anyone except essential services for a two-week quarantine.
The MP noted North Queensland had remained relatively untouched by the coronavirus but it had the tendency to multiply fast
Katter said under his proposal essential services such as prime movers transporting food would be allowed to travel to the boarder but a local truck would be required to tow the contents for the rest of the trip.
In explaining the potential danger, Katter spoke of a close encounter with woman who had contracted COVID-19.
‘I was in a very close incident where a man was eating a meal sitting beside a person who was a coronavirus victim, that person did not know she had the virus so she was totally innocent,’ he said.
Katter said the woman made contact with four men who went to the North Queensland Cowboys match later that night.