Coronavirus: Gold Coast beaches to close to non-locals from tomorrow night

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has announced that non-locals will be banned from multiple beaches after hundreds of people flocked to them over the weekend.

From tomorrow night a number of popular beaches on the Queensland Gold Coast will be closed to non-locals after hundreds of people were seen flouting social distancing rules over the weekend.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate announced that from midnight tomorrow The Spit, Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta beaches will be shut to visitors.

“Unfortunately, over the weekend, out-of-towners are descending on the Gold Coast in mass numbers and I fear that this number will increase over the Easter weekend,” Cr Tate told reporters.

“We love you but we don’t want you visiting now. I didn’t want to do this but over the weekend, shows me, especially people visiting from Brisbane are not listening to us.”

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People flocked to the Gold Coast's beaches despite the COVID 19 warnings. Picture: Adam Head

He said the beaches would remain only open for locals so they can “walk and continue to exercise” but did not say how this would be enforced.

“We are working through the finer details to have parking officers redeployed to monitor illegal parking,” he said.

“I didn’t want to do this but (what happened) over the weekend shows me especially people visiting from Brisbane are not listening to us.”

Cr Tate said he had been speaking to the police and was told a lot of people that had been pulled over in cars had said they were going to the beach.

He said this was “non-essential travel”.

“And I put it straight on to the fact that the congregations are happening around The Spit and the northern part,” he said.

“You go further south and where locals go, that’s not happening. So, my summation then is out of towners are congregating and not respecting what we Gold Coasters are doing.”

From midnight tomorrow non-locals will be banned from multiple Gold Coast beaches. Picture: Adam Head

More beaches will close if people continue to ignore the advice from health authorities, Cr Tate warned.

“The curve is flattening, this is not the time relax, it’s time to kill it off,” Cr Tate said.

The mayor said the closure was a reluctant decision he was forced to make to protect the community and while “Gold Coast beaches are quintessential Gold Coast”, authorities had to consider the overall situation.

“For us to win this fight against COVID-19, we are in it together. And if the minority of people are absolutely congregating and spreading it, I know, governing for the majority but in this case, the health issue is a No. 1 priority,” he said.

Car parks will be barricaded off to stop beach access, and parking officers will be deployed to monitor illegal parking while the closed beaches will be patrolled by authorities.

With AAP