Queensland to mandate masks over Christmas and New Year, police warn of fines for flouting business vaccine mandates
Police officers will not hesitate to slap businesses and individuals with hefty fines for failing to follow business vaccine mandates, Commissioner Katarina Carroll has warned.
Gold Coast
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QUEENSLAND Police officers will not hesitate to slap businesses and individuals with hefty fines for flouting business vaccine mandates, Commissioner Katarina Carroll has warned.
Individuals blatantly ignoring the new Covid-19 rules can be fined $1378, while businesses can be pinged at least $6892.
Commissioner Carroll spoke at a press conference on Friday, hours after the new business mandates began at 5am.
“From today, or just some hours ago, everyone entering pubs, clubs, restaurants and cinemas will need to be fully vaccinated,” she said.
“Businesses today … must display the new rules and this will really help inform the customers.
“It is actually up to the operators to make sure the patrons meet those requirements.
“We urge Queenslanders to be extraordinarily respectful and be kind to each other. This is the law.
“We have increased our activity in this space. There is increased patrols as well as already the compliance checks we’re conducting on businesses.
“And remember, we’ve always taken a really educated approach on this, but if there’s blatant disregard for the rules, for the law, there are fines for individuals up to $1378 and for businesses from $6892.
“Currently, as of just half an hour ago, there are eight business-related jobs in relation to the new rules.”
Commissioner Carroll urged businesses to phone police for help should they experience “difficulties or concerns”.
She also spoke about the police response at the border since the reopening early this week.
“Since the borders opened on Monday, there is 105,900 GV passes (handed out) – incredible numbers,” she said.
“On the borders, we’ve intercepted 31,598 vehicles. Of those, in the last five days we’ve turned around 126. (Police) intercepted 1485 heavy vehicles and turned around 19 of those.
“In the last 24 hours, 86 flights have come in from hot spots and on those we’ve checked 3966 passengers. 21 people have been refused entry. 86 have been put into quarantine from hot spots, and (there was) one from the road borders into quarantine as well.”
Commissioner Carroll said travellers were arriving in Queensland “still waiting for their PCR tests from interstate”.
Rather than turning these people around, police have been placing them in quarantine until test results become available.
Where you’ll have to wear a mask over Christmas and New Year
Earlier: Queensland will mandate face masks in retail and other environments over the Christmas and New Year period, according to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
She said the mandate would be enforced statewide to “slow the spread” of Covid-19 now the border has reopened, with caveats.
The mandate will be enforced from 1am on Saturday and it comes as Queensland recorded 20 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, including cases on the Gold Coast.
That includes nine new locally acquired cases, seven interstate acquired cases and four overseas acquired cases, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said.
Of the new cases, two were on the Coast, 13 were in Brisbane, one was in West Moreton, two were on the Sunshine Coast and two were in Cairns.
Meanwhile, Ms Palaszczuk said the mask mandate would be enforced in shops, hospitals and aged care facilities, on public transport (including rideshare vehicles), at airports and on planes.
Masks will not be required in pubs, clubs and other hospitality venues – but they are recommended.
“It’s time to bring these out,” Ms Palaszczuk said, pulling out a mask.
“Over the Christmas and New Year period masks will be mandatory in shops, retail, Woolworths, Coles.
“I’m asking Queenslanders to once again mask up. It’s a small price to pay for your freedoms.
“We’re asking this to slow the spread of the virus in shops and retail.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the decision would be revised when 90 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
At a second press conference later on Friday morning, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said 83.09 per cent of Queenslanders were fully vaccinated and there was five Omicron variant cases in the state, several of which were linked to the Newcastle, NSW outbreak.
Ms D’Ath said 89.03 per cent of eligible residents had received a single dose.
It comes as there is a “dramatic escalation in cases” in New South Wales.
“We know with the borders reopening we are going to see cases in Queensland,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Queensland recorded 22 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest daily total since August 5 when 27 cases were linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster.
In hospitals and aged care masks will also be mandatory, public transport and in ride share.
Those in a workplace and want to wear a mask can, but it’s not mandated.
Ms Palaszczuk urged Queensland residents to “think about yourselves, your family and your loved ones” and mask up.
The announcement comes after business vaccination mandates came into play across the state.
Ms Palaszczuk said “we know with the borders reopening we are going to see cases in Queensland”.
She expressed concerns about the Gold Coast’s vaccination rate, which lags behind other local government areas.
“The Gold Coast is trailing a bit. I’m concerned about the Gold Coast because we’re seeing cases there,” she said.
Concerns were expressed about the Coast’s vaccination rate as the number of coronavirus infections in NSW and Victoria grows at a rapid pace.
Victoria has recorded seven deaths and 1510 new cases, while NSW has recorded one death and 2213 new cases.
NSW had 215 people in hospital and 24 people in ICU, according to NSW Health.
Ms D’Ath said the numbers in NSW and Victoria were “growing quite rapidly” and “quite concerning”.
She urged Queenslanders to get vaccinated – and to get a third booster shot if need be.
Ms D’Ath also reiterated the importance of using the Check In Qld app while out and about, which will help contact tracers prevent widespread outbreaks.
Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard said he believed the mask mandate was not overly strict.
“I think most people expected a mask mandate to appear around about now,” he said.
“Mask wearing is not just about protecting yourself but about protecting others.
“The direction as it is written is relatively expected.”
He said what was required was not particularly onerous and the use of masks would relieve pressure on hospitals.
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