The ACT government has warned Canberrans who went to Suncorp Stadium on Friday to be alert for coronavirus symptoms and to keep an eye on Queensland Health alerts.
An ACT Health spokesperson labelled the scenes at the Canberra Raiders' preliminary final against the Melbourne Storm in Brisbane as unfortunate and a timely reminder we needed to be vigilant in practising social distancing.
Up to 20,000 fans were stuck outside of Suncorp Stadium when the grand final qualifier kicked off.
They were all crammed together and then flooded through the turnstile in a matter of minutes when stadium officials threw open the gates.
It meant only about half of the 37,112 fans were in their seats at the start of the game.
There was more than a hint of irony given the Queensland government's hard-line stance regarding border closures.
They bizarrely labelled Canberra a coronavirus hot-spot at the start of August, before eventually overturning that decision three weeks ago - provided they hadn't been to NSW in the past two weeks.
There have been no active COVID-19 cases in the ACT for more than three months.
Adding further fuel to the fire, the Queensland government kiboshed the Raiders' plans to stay at a hotel in the afternoon leading up to the game.
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They insisted the Raiders undertake a raft of biosecurity measures much stricter than the simple social distancing measures the Queensland stadium officials completely disregarded.
While there haven't been any new cases in Queensland in the past 24 hours, the ACT government still warned any Canberrans who had been to the game to remain vigilant.
Anyone who showed the slightest symptom should immediately get tested.
"Queensland has no new reported cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and no current reports of community transmission," the spokesperson told The Canberra Times.
"However, as a precaution, any ACT residents who travelled to the game and are returning to the ACT should keep up to date with the latest Queensland Health alerts on affected locations over the next 14 days and follow the health advice.
"If you begin to feel unwell and experience even very minor COVID-19 symptoms, get tested immediately and isolate at home until you receive a negative result and your symptoms resolve."
The incident at Suncorp Stadium was unfortunate, and this is part of growing and learning how to live with COVID-19.
ACT government
The ACT government said incidents like this would continue to occur as the world struggled to deal with the virus.
They saw it as a warning for everyone.
"As borders across the country start to open up, incidents like this are a timely reminder that we as a society must continue to be vigilant in practising our COVID-safe behaviours," the spokesperson said.
"The incident at Suncorp Stadium was unfortunate, and this is part of growing and learning how to live with COVID-19 as part of our everyday lives."
