Coronavirus: State employs special police unit to track the spread of COVID-19
Queensland has established a special unit to ramp up contact tracing and to enforce quarantine and isolation orders in the state.
Mounting concerns about the civil liberties implications of a nationwide crackdown on public gatherings and other measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 have not deterred state governments from introducing further restrictions.
The Queensland government has established a special unit to ramp up contact tracing and to enforce quarantine and isolation orders in an all-out effort to tackle the virus, as the state’s human rights commissioner vowed to monitor the operation of new rules aimed at discouraging people congregating in public places.
Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government would recruit the “best and brightest” of the state’s law enforcement agencies to boost contact tracing and help identify and isolate new coronavirus cases.
The Premier said Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath would be put in charge of the new operation, as she promised to “throw whatever we need at it”.
“There may be additional people from law enforcement agencies (involved),” she said. “They have one job, and their job is to make sure people are complying.”
Queensland Health staff have already traced 50,000 people who may have had significant contact with those who have tested positive for coronavirus. More than 40,000 have subsequently gone into self-isolation or quarantine.
Despite an existing unit of 500 Queensland Health staff conducting contact tracing, the Premier stressed more needed to be done. The operation means devoting more resources and Department of Justice officers to contact tracing, which may involve up to 300 phone calls per trace.
The move follows a crackdown on movement across Queensland’s borders and the introduction of new police powers — similar to those in effect in other states — to enforce the break-up of non-essential public gatherings of more than two people.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has insisted on-the-spot fines for breaching the rules will be used sparingly.
However, the move prompted Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall to establish a register to monitor the new restrictions and ensure they are withdrawn when no longer necessary. “As we get on the other side of the virus curve, the question needs to be asked about justifying these restrictions,” he said.
Mr McDougall said police should understand that issuing on-the-spot fines was just one option in ensuring people were complying with public health orders.
The swift introduction of the restrictions also was a reason for police to “exercise discretion” in enforcing them, he said. Homeless people, for instance, might not have heard about the new rules.
Among the first to be fined under the new rules is the manager of a Brisbane massage parlour, who was handed a $6672.50 on-the-spot fine for operating a business in breach of the health laws.
Massage parlours and spas are banned from operating during the declared COVID-19 public health emergency.
Health Minister Steven Miles said there had been 55 new virus cases in Queensland, bringing the total to 743. Seven people with the virus are in intensive care units.
Police also will take a harder line on anyone contemplating non-essential travel across the border from Friday, turning around those they catch without a state-approved permit.
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