The Club Hotel and Motel at Roma accused of no dancing breach
Video footage has emerged of raucous revellers dancing on chairs and standing while drinking at a Queensland pub on Saturday night, in an apparent breach of the state’s tough coronavirus safety rules for licensed venues.
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COVID-crazy video footage has emerged of patrons dancing on chairs at a Queensland country pub, apparently thumbing their nose at strict virus safety rules for licensed venues.
Liquor Licensing officers have launched an investigation into the raucous revelry at The Club Hotel and Motel at Roma on Saturday night.
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Social media videos obtained by The Courier-Mail show punters whooping it up in the packed pub bar in breach of Queensland’s “no dancing” rules.
Patrons can also be seen standing and drinking, breaking the hotel industry’s COVID Safe Plan which dictates that they must be seated while sipping their beverages.
An Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation spokeswoman said a complaint had been received about activities at The Club Hotel over the weekend “and (we) are looking into the matter”.
But the pub’s licensee, Felicity Waldron, said the complaint was “a whole lot of crap”.
“One guy was on a table for about 10 seconds before he was asked to get down,” she said.
“The police were here with body worn cameras.”
Ms Waldron said the hotel was ‘probably the only one in town’ that complied with COVID rules and blamed the complaint on jealous rivals who had lost business to her establishment.
She said she was confident full CCTV footage would clear the pub of any COVID breaches.
A number of licensed venues across the state have been hit with hefty fines of up to $6772 each for breaching COVID rules.
The Queensland Hotels Association has complained that the “no standing” rule in pubs has been “virtually impossible” to enforce.
Health Minister Steven Miles said dancing could spread the virus.
“Thanks to the hard work of Queenslanders we’ve been able to get back to a little bit of normal life,” he said.
“Queenslanders can order a drink at the bar, enjoy dinner at a restaurant, eat at a cafe and kids can get back playing sport.
“However we’ve seen in other states how quickly things can change. The risk remains and we can’t let large groups onto the dance floor just yet.
“Social distancing is still our best defence against this virus.
“This virus can be deadly. You’d never forgive yourself if you gave it to someone vulnerable that you love after a night out dancing. It’s just not worth it.”