Greater Brisbane area residents banned from day one of Byron Bay Bluesfest

Residents of Greater Brisbane, and anyone affected by the snap lockdown, will be banned from attending the first day of the hugely popular Byron Bay Bluesfest.

Residents of the greater Brisbane area and visitors affected by the lockdown will be banned from attending the first day of the Byron Bay Bluesfest.

Organisers of the long-running Easter music festival have released a statement assuring patrons the event is still going ahead, despite Byron Bay now being at the centre of the latest COVID-19 crisis.

A Queensland nurse and her sister unknowingly infected with the virus were in Byron for a weekend-long hens party, visiting a number of locations including the busy Beach Hotel.

Jimmy Barnes will be among the all-Aussie line up performing at this years Blues festival in Byron Bay. Picture: Supplied

A Gold Coast tradie, who worked as an entertainer at a hen’s party the women attended at The Farm at Byron, has also been struck down by COVID-19.

Bluesfest director Peter Noble said the event would go ahead, but ticket holders affected by the 72-hour Brisbane lockdown – which began at 5pm Monday – would not be allowed to attend festival opening day on Thursday.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation closely to ensure the event is COVID-safe,” he said.

Because of COVID, this year’s Bluesfest features an All-Australian line-up including Jimmy Barnes, Tash Sultana and Ocean Alley.