Howard Salkow

Senior Journalist

Douglas Shire Council is making every attempt to secure a location for Covid testing in Port Douglas.

At this time, the only place to be tested is Mossman Hospital which could prove to be a challenge for Port Douglas visitors, who need to be tested on the fifth day of their arrival in Queensland, and do not have transport.

“We are trying our best to make this happen. It will depend on numbers and this is tough to gauge at this point.

“Testing is done by a private company and we will be keeping a close eye on whether there is a need for a testing site in Port Douglas,” said Kerr.

A visitor to Port Douglas, who arrives on January 1, for example, will be required to be tested on January 6, which is their fifth day in Queensland.

Queensland's border opened to all domestic visitors from 1:00am today.

Visitors to Queensland including Port Douglas must adhere to the following:

• Fully vaccinated travellers from interstate hot spots can arrive by road or air, they must provide a negative COVID test in the previous 72 hours and must complete a COVID test on day five after arrival. No quarantine is required;

• There are no restrictions for travellers arriving from other parts of Australia (ie. from non-hot spot areas);

• International arrivals must be fully vaccinated and return a negative COVID test within 72 hours of departure, they will be required to get a test on arrival and must go into home or hotel quarantine for 14 days;

• All arrivals, no matter where from, must complete relevant entry declarations and abide by the public health directions in place at the time.