COVID-19: Crackdown on lockdown as more Sydney beaches shut, Queensland Premier’s last warning

Police are gearing up for an Easter crackdown to prevent mass movements of people to popular holiday spots to maintain an easing in virus cases.

Social distancing fail: people out and about on the Gold Coast’s Spit, seemingly oblivious to the closed carparks and numerous warning signs. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Police are gearing up for an Easter crackdown to prevent mass movements of people to popular holiday spots as they try to maintain an easing in coronavirus cases.

Perfect weather in Queensland saw people swarm beaches on the first weekend of the school holidays, prompting the state government to warn holiday-makers and day-trippers to stay away or face heavy fines.

In NSW, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the gathering of large numbers of people on the state’s north, central and south coasts days ahead of Easter was “appalling … If you have headed off for a sneaky little holiday, my message to you is go home”.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said officers would be checking IDs and addresses, but acknowledged it was a complex issue. “We want people to get out and manage their mental health but at the same stage, you look at the transmission rates around our beaches and around those areas it’s much, much higher than it is in other areas generally,” he said.

“So, yeah, we will be stopping people and if you don’t have a good reason to be where you are, then you could face a $1000 fine.”

Curl Curl Beach continues to be a hotspot for people congregating. Picture: Matrix

In Western Australia, Premier Mark McGowan announced new restrictions prohibiting non-­essential visits to the town of Esperance, on WA’s southern coast. The rules were introduced to stop a projected “flood” of visitors to the town in the weeks ahead by ­holiday-makers from WA’s Goldfields region.

WA had already barred people from travelling between the state’s different regions. Esperance, however, sits within the broader Goldfields region and Mr McGowan said the town had requested the orders because of concerns about the Easter holidays period.

Rescue helicopters were for the first time used to monitor crowd numbers and behaviour on Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast beaches. By 3pm on Sunday, Surf Life Saving Queensland had counted 69,633 people visiting patrolled beaches on the Gold and Sunshine coasts at the weekend.

Surf lifesavers said while most people acted responsibly, they were forced to call police to some beaches to deal with crowds.

“There’s a few more people than we would have hoped for,” Sunshine Coast duty officer Jacob Thompson said.

Noosa MP Sandy Bolton said she was concerned many people were still asking whether they could visit town for Easter.

“The government’s been very clear that everyone is to stay at home, and that means no visitors from Brisbane, sadly, or anywhere else,” she said.

“Holidays or breaks or even a half-day away — they’re not in the exemptions category.”

Surf Life Saving Queensland Gold Coast duty officer Scott Burgess said “sensational” conditions on Sunday had been too hard for people to resist. “The sun’s out, the water is beautiful, and everyone’s out,” he said.

Most people were listening to social-distancing messages but at Currumbin he counted seven beach umbrellas and “30 to 40” sunbakers: “The message from the government during the week has been they’re going to fine sunbakers. There’s definitely a ‘devil may care’ attitude towards that.”

In a clear message that it is now locals only, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate closed public carparks at The Spit.

Brisbane’s Milton Markets were mostly quiet over the weekend yet some customers still sat around to eat and talk. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk thanked the public on Sunday after the state recorded its lowest rise in coronavirus cases in weeks but she was concerned about people not following rules at beaches, parks and markets, a spokesman said on Sunday night.

“We don’t want Sydney with fences. But that’s coming unless people follow the rules,” he said. “You should not be driving from Brisbane to the Gold Coast for a day. The more we travel, the more the virus travels.”

Police had so far largely given people a grace period to adjust, “but they won’t always”.

“The bigger the disregard, the faster the day will come when they will start to book people,” he said.

Amid some public uncertainty about what travel and exercise is permitted, the Queensland government is telling people to stay in their own suburbs or nearby.

Ms Palaszczuk on Sunday threatened to close down markets after community complaints about a lack of social distancing at Saturday’s Jan Powers Farmers Markets in New Farm. “If I see that again, they’re going to be shut down immediately,” she said.

Markets were “not a chance to go down for an outing … You should only be going down there if you intend to purchase fresh produce. I’m giving my last warning”.

In Victoria, people have been fined for attending house parties and gathering in public parks in defiance of official orders. Victoria Police issued 142 fines on Saturday, taking the total to 199.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Brendan Murphy, is pleading with Australians to forgo their usual Easter festivities and stick to social-distancing measures.