Businessowners concerned with impact of quarantine on hospitality industry
Townsville’s business leaders have voiced concerns over the future of the state’s hospitality industry, as confusion surrounds the government’s response to Covid-19’s arrival in the North.
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TOWNSVILLE’S business leaders have voiced concern over the future of the state’s hospitality industry, as confusion surrounds the government’s response to Covid-19’s arrival in the North.
The city recorded its first case of the virus one day after Queensland’s borders opened to interstate travellers on Monday after a causing a planeload of passengers to quarantine.
A passenger on a flight from Newcastle to Townsville via Brisbane is understood to have contracted the new Omicron variant.
Queensland Health initially listed the entire flight as an exposure site, listing every passenger as a close contact.
But in a sudden backflip on Wednesday morning, some passengers were changed from close contacts to casual contacts.
The change meant passengers in the two rows in front, behind, and on either side of the infected man would have to quarantine for 14 days, with the remaining passengers on the flight to isolate only until they received a negative test result.
The sudden action has again unsettled the Townsville business community.
FGH Group founder and Townsville Enterprise director Jamie Fitzpatrick said there was a feeling of “disillusionment and confusion” within the industry.
Mr Fitzpatrick said if businesses had to continually shut their doors and quarantine their staff after being listed as an exposure site, the industry would be “doomed”.
“Even a seven day quarantine shuts down a business, and (stops) staff (from working),” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“It’s not a sustainable model for our industry … it continues to be a battleground economically.”
He said while most people in the community had been vaccinated, the confusion around quarantining remained, and called on the state government to clarify their stance.
The Ville Resort-Casino CEO Michael Jones said he had no clarity on just how broadly staff could be impacted by quarantines.
Mr Jones said if The Ville was declared an exposure site resulting in large numbers of staff being quarantined, the business would not be able to trade during the busy holiday season.
“We have Christmas parties, and are at 100 per cent occupancy – it’s our busiest time of year and we can’t afford three-quarters of our staff quarantining when we have 100 per cent vaccinated staff at The Ville,” Mr Jones said.
“You can’t plan any further than a day-by-day basis, every day it is something new, it’s very frustrating.”
Townsville Enterprise CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said she understood the need to keep Queenslander’s safe, but the confusion surrounding the definition of a close contact was not helpful.
“To restart our interstate visitor economy, there needs to be confidence that a standard process will apply, and unexplainable changes to the rule book will severely impact traveller confidence,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.
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Originally published as Businessowners concerned with impact of quarantine on hospitality industry
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