Overview
Residents of southeast Queensland, your plans for the near future might be about to change — depending on how many people you're keen to spend time with and where. The Sunshine State is tightening COVID-19 restrictions again in 11 Local Government Areas, effective 1am tomorrow, Tuesday, June 29. And yes, these new rules have been announced just three days after Queensland last loosened restrictions, and only a day since it first started to bring them back in.
Basically, whatever you have planned from tomorrow onwards, you're going to want to check the latest rules — because they've shifted a few times in just a few days. Announced today, Monday, June 28 by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, the next batch of restrictions will come into effect in the Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Logan, Redlands, Ipswich, Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, the Scenic Rim, the Lockyer Valley and Somerset LGAs.
In these areas, at-home gathering limits are going down to 30 — which is a change from the cap of 100 that was announced yesterday.
Another area where the last rules that were announced 24 hours ago are being altered: density caps in hospitality businesses. They'll go back to one person per four-square-metres indoors and one person per two-square-metres outdoors — although venues smaller than 200 square metres will be permitted to welcome in one person per two-square-metres with a cap of 50 people.
Seated consumption is back, too, so you'll only be able to eat and drink while sitting. Dancing is banned again, because we all need to feel like Kevin Bacon in Footloose once more. And, weddings and funerals can only have 100 people — with only 20 people allowed on the dance floor at once at the latter.
Masks will be mandatory again in indoor spaces outside of your own house, too. That means you'll need to cover up in places such as shopping centres, public transport, hospitals, aged care facilities and churches. And, you'll need to mask up in workplaces where you can't maintain physical distancing. You'll also need to always carry a mask with you when you aren't at home as well.
Something that isn't changing: capacity for ticketed and seated events. So, you'll still be able to hang out with more folks in the great outdoors — and at galleries, museums, convention centres, theatres, gig venues and cinemas. Outside, there's no longer a limit on how many people can gather. For venues with seated and ticketed capacity, they can fill to 100 percent.
At today's press conference, Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said that the rules aren't tightening for ticketed and seated events "because I know how well people have been managing their COVIDSafe plan. So 100-percent capacity where it's ticketed and seated. Otherwise, it's one per four square metres if people are standing and mingling, because of that risk."
Two new local COVID-19 cases were identified in Queensland in the past 24 hours, including one with the more contagious Delta variant. That's why restrictions are being tightened, the Premier noted. Yesterday, three community acquired cases were reported, covering both Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
As always, Queenslanders are asked to keep social distancing, and maintaining the hygiene practices that have been in place since March 2020. You're also requested to keep checking the state's list of exposure sites — and to get tested if you're feeling even the slightest possible COVID-19 symptoms.
For more information about the status of COVID-19 in Queensland, head to the QLD COVID-19 hub and the Queensland Health website.