People who drove from Canberra to Victoria on New Year's Day are not required to home quarantine, Victoria's health department has confirmed.
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After four days of confusion and conflicting advice, Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed to The Canberra Times that "people travelling from the ACT on January 1 were allowed to enter Victoria and not have to isolate prior to their test result coming back".
"They do not have to isolate for 14 days," the department's statement said.
The department's statement means people who have been in isolation since returning to Victoria from Canberra on January 1 are free to leave their home.
ACT residents and visitors have been unable to get clear answers on quarantine rules in Victoria since the state announced on New Year's Eve that its border would slam shut to New South Wales from midnight on January 1.
Victoria set up a transit permit for ACT and Queensland travellers on January 2, which clearly exempts people from quarantine.
But the rules have been far less clear for people who made the trip on January 1 - before the special permit was available.
Some believed Canberra travellers would be exempt from quarantine rules because of assurances from Victoria's COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar on New Year's Eve.
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Others thought they would need to self-isolate after crossing the border into Victoria on New Year's Day, as the only travel permit available at the time stated they were subject to the same rules as people returning from NSW green zones.
People who made the trip on January 1 have received conflicting advice from Victorian authorities, with some told to isolate while others were given the green light to go free. Text messages from DHHS to returned travellers, instructing them to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days, has added to the confusion.
The messages appear to have been sent to all NSW green zone permit holders, and the advice hasn't differentiated between people who travelled from NSW and the ACT.
The ACT government has always believed that Canberra travellers were exempt from quarantine restrictions, but even Chief Minister Andrew Barr couldn't provide a clear answer on the rules when questioned on Tuesday.
Alyssa, who didn't provide her surname, has been among those people who have been in self-isolation in Victorian after making the trip from Canberra on January 1.
She described how she felt "shocked, stressed and anxious" as she weighed up whether to leave Canberra on New Year's Day without having clear information on what rules applied to her.
"Being in the ACT especially ... it feels like it's not being considered," she said. "There are so many people that the system isn't accounting for.
"You don't know what their mental state or their health state is. They are basically pushing people to make split decisions without enough information.
"I felt sick at the thought that I didn't have enough information to make the decision that I needed. I'm just disappointed in the government for not considering everyone, and for making such massive decisions at such short notice."
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
