Travellers to the ACT have been left stranded after the Labor-Greens Government changed health directions with no notice overnight requiring travellers to quarantine until 14 days after their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Travellers who have done the right thing are having the rug pulled out from under them,” Ms Jones “Perfectly reasonable Canberrans who have checked the rules are having the rules changed under their feet,” Mrs Jones said today.

“Travellers have been given exemptions forms that say there is a two week wait-time before they can travel, but until yesterday, the Chief Health Officer’s public health direction said they had to wait only one week.

“The forms simply need to match the rules.

Section 53 of the Public Health (COVID-19 Affected Areas) Emergency Direction 2021 (No 12), made on Wednesday, 3 November 2021, requires a returned traveller to have been vaccinated at least two weeks before re-entering the ACT.

However, section 54 of the Public Health (COVID-19 Affected Areas) Emergency Direction 2021 (No 11), enacted only three days before on Sunday, 31 October 2021, required a returned traveller to be fully vaccinated for one week before re-entering the ACT.

“Changing the rules now means that anyone who entered the ACT will be forced to quarantine, even though when they arrived on Monday, they were free to re-enter the ACT.

“This is retrospective rule-making that results in people being unfairly asked to quarantine.

“The Chief Minister needs to explain whether he has told the Chief Health Officer to make this new rule to cover-up the sloppy response from his Labor-Greens Government.

“Despite having had 18 months to prepare for COVID-19, this is yet another bungle that now the Labor-Greens Government is trying to hide with new, retrospective rules.

“This incident raises serious questions about how the Labor-Greens Government is managing the transition out of lockdown.

“There are serious human rights implications in these situations that will ultimately need to be decided by a court,” Mrs Jones concluded.