Industry groups say mandatory vaccinations for truck drivers entering Queensland are “inevitable” after the latest COVID-19 incursion in Brisbane.
An unvaccinated truck driver who was staying in shared accommodation tested positive yesterday and was infectious in the community for eight days.
The state government said the man was the seventh truck driver to have entered Queensland who had been infectious in the community since August 24.
As a result, from October 15, truck drivers and those using the freight pass will be required to have their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination and their second dose or a booking by November 15.
The Queensland Trucking Association said the state was now falling in line with other jurisdictions including Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.
“Given the decisions taken in other states, and with the virus load coming out of New South Wales, this sort of protection at our borders was an inevitable conclusion,” CEO Gary Mahon said.
He said many truck drivers working for companies had already been vaccinated with some fleets reporting vaccination rates as high as 90 per cent.
“I think for those who are on cross-border operations, I would expect that they might receive [the mandate] reasonably OK,” Mr Mahon said.
ABC News: Baz Ruddick
)Mandate concerns
Truckie Kevin Norris, who travels between Toowoomba and Perth, has had his first dose but he said many others in the industry still had concerns.
“I’ve been vaccinated one round. [I’m] a little bit sceptical still.”
ABC Southern Queensland: David Chen
)Mr Mahon said he estimated about 20 per cent of the trucking industry had yet to be vaccinated and it would be difficult to convince them to get the jab.
He said more work was needed to educate drivers on the benefits of being vaccinated.
“I think management and other people in their communities [should] encourage people to … cooperate with vaccination,” Mr Mahon said.
“And if you’re going to work on cross-border operations, they are pretty much the rules and they will need to abide by them.”
Testing requirements
Mr Mahon said drivers would welcome the state government’s new requirements that drivers have a negative COVID test result at the border from within a seven-day period and maintain a seven-day rolling test regime while operating in the state.
Drivers coming from hotspots in Sydney previously needed tests every three days.
ABC South East SA: Isadora Bogle
)Mr Norris, during his current route, needed at least four COVID-19 tests while travelling through New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia.
He said he would appreciate a less intensive testing regime, during his four-day, 5,000km trip.
Katrina Hockey, a compliance officer at Land Transport, said her workload had doubled due to requirements for up-to-date tests.
She said it had been difficult for some drivers.
ABC Southern Queensland: David Chen
)“I’ve had one driver who was stuck at the border, an older driver who was not tech-savvy,” Ms Hockey said.
“I was on the phone with his test result trying to ask the policeman if I could email it or text it to him and the policeman … wasn’t being very nice to our driver.”
The Queensland Trucking Association has also called for the use of rapid antigen tests for truck drivers but it is unlikely it will be introduced.
Queensland Health said Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing would continue to be the state’s preferred method of testing because it was efficient, reliable, and accurate.
It said PCR test results could be turned around on the same day, depending on the volume of testing being performed.
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