Coronavirus: Annastacia Palaszczuk ‘powering up’ economy with support for small operators

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is set to provide more support to small business over the coming week.

Isabella, 5, and mum Jaqueline Pavone, with friends Bonnie, 5, mum Sally Churven and Noah, 3, at a playground in Ashgrove, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

The Queensland government is set to provide more support to small businesses as a way of “powering up” a state economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had met representatives of business and industry last week and would likely announce a fresh support package for small business this week. “We are focusing a lot on small business. There’s a lot of concern out there about how we can further ­assist small business,” she said.

“We know people are hurting and have lost their jobs and we have got to power up the Queensland economy at the same time as we recognise the health impacts as we ease restrictions.”

Health Minister Steven Miles and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young will travel to Rockhampton on Monday to oversee efforts to ensure there is no outbreak of COVID-19 at the North Rockhampton aged care centre where a nurse tested positive to the virus. Ms Palaszczuk said the government was still waiting on the results of 37 tests for the virus but so far 235 staff and residents had tested negative.

She said the government’s rapid response unit “worked like clockwork” once the positive test was identified.

However, she blasted the aged care nurse who contracted the virus but continued to go to work for several days ­despite feeling ill. “It is not acceptable for anyone who is sick in this particular pandemic that we are dealing with to go to work,’’ she said.

“Honestly, a nurse should know better.”

Thirty-five residents from the home were moved to hospitals over the weekend to help improve social distancing at the centre.

There are just 12 active cases of COVID-19 in Queensland, with no new cases reported on Sunday.

Only 10 infringement notices were issued to people flouting the more relaxed rules on public gatherings.

However, Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland would not be “out of the woods” until it had discharged the thousands of people still under quarantine.

Her comments came as restrictions were eased on the use of playground equipment. Ashgrove mother Jacqueline Pavone has ­already clocked up several hours with her family at the inner-Brisbane playground at nearby Dorrington Park even though the restrictions were only lifted at the start of the weekend.

She said it was the first time her children had been able to use the playground since before Easter.

“They were very excited and were asking how many sleeps left before they could go back to the playground,” she said.

“It’s important to have back that freedom and ability to exert that energy.”

Queensland enjoyed its first weekend of eased restrictions on travel, with residents able to travel up to 150km from their home, playgrounds open and pubs and restaurants permitted to serve meals to up to 10 people at a time.