Coronavirus Qld: Police quarantine fines revealed

Police have warned Queenslanders to expect more enforcement – including at shopping centres – as restrictions are further eased tomorrow. It comes as 11 fines were handed out for Covid-19 breaches yesterday.

ELEVEN fines were handed out for breaches of COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday, as police renew their warning for Queenslanders to continue to follow guidelines as restrictions are set to be eased.

Police warned of more enforcement over the weekend as tough coronavirus restrictions across the state begin to ease, including a possible crackdown on shopping centres.

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State Disaster Coordinator Steve Gollschweski said the eased restrictions from tomorrow that will allow up to five people from different households to visit another household was “not open slather for large house parties”.

“We will be taking enforcement action if people do the wrong thing,” he said.

“In public, up to ten people will be permitted to gather in public spaces.

“Police officers will be conducting patrols to ensure people are complying with the restrictions and if we see large congregations then we will be move people along.”

Mr Gollschweski confirmed the new rules did not mean that people could have picnics in their backyards with groups of up to ten, because that was classed as their residence.

He said other regulatory agencies will also be part of the enforcement action, including enforcing limits on the number of people allowed to dine at restaurants and cafes.

“The message to the community is really clear: if you’re going somewhere and it looks crowded, don’t go in there,” he said.

“Make another choice.

“We’ve already seen the opening of shopping centres and we’re paying particular attention to that.

“We saw really good compliance from shops, but what we saw was some crowding in shopping centres.”

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said although officers will be out in greater numbers, the main focus for police was to help educate members of the public on what they can and cannot do as restrictions start to ease.

“With restrictions beginning to ease this weekend throughout Queensland, police will continue to educate and show compassion when engaging with members of the public,” the spokeswoman said.

“People can expect to see high visibility policing in busy areas such as parks, waterways and shopping centres.”

Although some within the hospitality and beauty industries are able to open during the phase 1 easing of restrictions, businesses are reminded to stay vigilant and adhere to social distancing rules.

Over the course of seven weeks, police have fined five businesses $6,672 each for failing to adhere with directions under the Public Health Act.

The cumulative total in fines for Queensland businesses who have done the wrong thing during the COVID-19 crisis is $33,360.

According to the Queensland Police Service, 64 fines for individuals have been withdrawn since March 27 following a standard internal review process by the Service.

Queensland Police Service said it intercepted 3808 vehicles at the state border.

Of those vehicles, 40 were turned around and 66 people were directed into quarantine at road borders.

A total of 336 domestic airline passengers arrived into Queensland but none were refused entry and no-one was directed into quarantine.

QPS did not release how many essential business checks it conducted on Thursday, or the number of people it checked on in quarantine.

Originally published as Coronavirus Qld: Police quarantine fines revealed