A border control checkpoint at the QLD/NSW border (Image: AAP/Russell Freeman)

There’s a distinct feeling when you step off a plane in Queensland: the sun glares in your eyes, you feel the humidity on your skin, and you hear cicadas chirping as if they surround you. It’s a feeling many Queenslanders living interstate, myself included, have anticipated with great excitement as we plan to return home for the first time in five months or longer. And finally, after much apprehension, the border is open. 

More than 225,000 people have taken up the offer, streaming into the state since it reopened to New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria. But many more are still set to make the journey before Christmas, and border anxiety is real. As COVID worsens, every second spent away from home feels like a ticking time bomb. Every interaction is a new chance to get COVID or be a close contact, every passing day an opportunity for the rules to change again. 

Queensland’s cases have been steadily rising, soaring to 186 today. Still, it’s a fraction compared to the 3763 recorded in NSW today or 1503 in Victoria.

Despite this upward trend, signs point to rule changes that will be positive for travellers. Close contact quarantine was cut from 14 days to seven, and state police commissioner Katarina Carroll this morning flagged the requirement to return a negative PCR test three days before travel could be scrapped as early as January 1. Too late for me but a boon to other would-be travellers.

I started writing this article in Sydney nervously awaiting the return of my PCR test, and am completing it from my parent’s house in Brisbane. I am a border-crossing success story, but I am here to report that the process was bloody stressful.

Christmas is cancelled

Just as palpable as the cicadas at Brisbane airport is the anxiety of inbound Queenslanders awaiting COVID test results so they can board their flights or pack their cars and head home. The steps now required to make the trip call for a delicate and complicated balancing act to ward off attacks from all directions.

First up, don’t get COVID. There is more COVID in Australia than ever before, and your chances of catching the virus feel higher than ever thanks to the new super-spreading variant that I refuse to name. But even staying COVID-free won’t save you.

Next up, you need to avoid anyone who wasn’t so successful in dodging the virus. While the close contact rules vary state to state, getting pinged could seriously delay or impact holiday plans. 

These likelihoods have led many to retreat to their homes and avoid human contact during what is usually one of the most social times of the year. Fear of the virus failed to keep many at home once lockdowns lifted, but the prospect of a Christmas and New Year’s Eve spent alone is proving just the ticket to an anti-social pre-Christmas period.

Your final challenge is getting a PCR test. Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory currently all require travellers from NSW and Victoria to get a negative test in the 72 hours before they enter the respective states. 

Sounds simple, but in the rush to return home in the lead up to Christmas, wait times for both receiving the test and the results have dramatically increased in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Even if you have the flexibility to arrive within test centre opening times and queue for hours, there’s no guarantee that the result will arrive in the time you need it.

Rule changes and long delays

There have been reports of tests taking five days to return, with testing centres warning attendees that they can no longer ensure a result within 48 hours. The uncertainty around the new variant and case increases creates a sense of anxiety for anyone with upcoming plans.

When Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted on Friday that she had an “important announcement”, Queenslanders feared the worst. My mind immediately went to lockdown, border closure or further restrictions for travellers on arrival. It was actually a mask mandate and the completion of a tunnel, and many expressed their frustration over the word choice that led to the panic.

It could be worse

Western Australia provides the perspective that things could always be worse. I feel deeply for the Western Australians who have long known there was little to no chance of family reunions over these holidays. 

Plus, I get to write this having made it home for the holidays. Many are not so lucky. To all the people spending Christmas and/or New Years’ in isolation, I’m sorry. Every single person in this country (except you WA) has undertaken immense sacrifices to get to this point. All we can do is hope that 2022 brings a fresh start and the promise of a year that doesn’t suck.

Have you run into COVID-related trouble while trying to get back home for the holidays? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name if you would like to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say column. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.