Overview
2020 has thrown many tough questions our way but, for Queenslanders, quite the conundrum is currently upon us. When the state's indoor dance floors reopen — which is allowed to happen from midday on Monday, December 14, as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk just announced — what fancy footwork will you bust out? Which go-to dance move will you use? And what song to do you want to make shapes to?
For much of this year, as we've noted several times before, Queensland has resembled the town from Footloose. Kevin Bacon wasn't here, sadly, but dancing was forbidden. That's been changing in recent months, though, with outdoor dancing at music festivals and in beer gardens — and at weddings — permitted since mid-November. Being able to cut a rug indoors is the next step, however, and it is finally here.
Whether you want to shake a leg at a pub, club or nightclub, it doesn't matter — they're all allowed to reopen their dance floors. There is a caveat, though, with the one person per two-square-metres rule applying. So you'll be tripping the light fantastic in a socially distanced fashion.
And if you're wondering about the timing of the news — and of dancing inside making a comeback — yes, the fact that it's the most festive and celebratory part of the year has something to do with it. Health and Ambulance Services Minister Yvette D'Ath said that "it is because of everyone's hard work and cooperation with public health directions that we will now be able to can-can at Christmas parties and rock around the clock as it strikes 12 on New Year's Eve". Obviously, you can choose other dance styles (and other ways to describe your dancing), if you prefer.
Queensland has now hit 86 days without community transmission of COVID-19, and currently has 22 active cases.
For more information about southeast Queensland's COVID-19 restrictions, or about the status of COVID-19 in the state, visit the Qld COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.