Five people have been found in Queensland having fled the recent Victorian lockdown, on top of a COVID-infected Melbourne couple who have sparked fury in the Sunshine State.
The five people have each been fined $4003 for breaching the state’s border ban to Victoria.
They include two women found in the Darling Downs on June 4 after crossing the border at Goondiwindi.
Catch the best deals and products hand-picked by our team at Best Picks 
A man was also fined for having an untrue declaration on his border pass after crossing at Coolangatta, while two other people were found in the Wide Bay region with crossing at “no border pass at all”, Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said.
“It’s really incumbent on people to make sure they do what’s required of them when they come into this state,” he said.
‘Serious consequences’
“There are serious consequences for this.
“There’s been a serious consequences in that we’ve had people with COVID in our community, and that is really, really unacceptable.”
They have been placed into quarantine.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said people coming into the state from COVID hotspots won’t get away with it.
“We will be making sure that you are found,” she said.
“This is an offence. You cannot come into this state if you are from a hotspot and put our state at risk.
“We will make sure you will face the consequences if you do that.
“These people who think they can avoid our border controls by jumping in their car and coming across, there is every chance you will be found out.”
Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk shared her frustration with the Melbourne couple who arrived while infected with coronavirus.
“Everyone needs to do the right thing. There was a lockdown on ... they shouldn’t have left Victoria. It just puts people at risk,” she said.
Queensland appears to have dodged an outbreak linked to the couple after no new cases were found on Friday, from almost 6000 tests.
There have have been 316 close contacts of the man and woman in Queensland after they stayed with relatives on the Sunshine Coast.
So far, 41 have returned negative results.
The couple entered Queensland on June 5 after leaving Victoria four days earlier, when greater Melbourne was in a snap lockdown to control a COVID-19 outbreak.
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino has said the couple did not breach any state restrictions by leaving, and moving interstate is allowed during lockdowns.
The couple didn’t apply for a travel exemption to enter Queensland.
Police are investigating whether they breached Queensland’s border restrictions.
Gollschewski said police are “progressing” with the investigation but the couple hasn’t been interviewed by officers due to the risk of infection.
He said that is likely to happen “in next few days or next week”.