Understanding the Current COVID Restrictions for FNQ

As we don masks widely throughout the Douglas Shire, to help businesses, residents and visitors understand the current COVID restrictions for areas of Queensland outside of Greater Brisbane, the following information is provided.

Movements and gatherings restrictions

You can leave your home for any purpose.
You can travel anywhere in Australia (please note other States and Territories may have restrictions in place that prevent you from travelling to them).
You can have 30 people gather in your home. This number includes those who live with you.
Up to 500 people can gather outside, not in your home.

Businesses

Must follow the rules outlined in the Restrictions on Businesses, Activities and Undertakings Direction.
Restaurants, cafés, bars and nightclubs can only open for seated eating and drinking, no standing or dancing allowed.
If you or your staff are working in customer facing roles you must wear face masks (unless you have a lawful reason not to i.e. medical condition).
Queensland Health advises that businesses should not refuse service to people who are not lawfully required to wear a mask
Your patrons are not required to wear face masks whilst they are seated to dine-in.
Your patrons must wear a mask when ordering at the bar/counter (which is permitted).

Enforcing customer compliance

Queensland Health does not expect businesses to enforce compliance of mask wearing or lockdown requirements, but they can report non-compliance through the appropriate Queensland Police Service channels.

No business owner should put themselves or their staff at risk by confronting guests.
Accommodation providers are encouraged to notify all guests, regardless of where they have come from, of the current requirement in relation to people who have been in greater Brisbane since 8am 20 March and the restrictions that will apply in the rest of the State.
During the last lockdown, accommodation providers used a range of methods to communicate with their guests that had already arrived or were due to arrive, such as emails to guest, posters/flyers displayed around the venue, leaflets under guests doors etc.

Face masks

Face masks must be carried at all times when a person is outside their residence.
They must be worn outdoors when social distancing is not possible, and on public transport and in taxi or rideshare.
Masks must be worn in all indoor spaces (except the home), such as the supermarket, and in indoor workplaces except where it is unsafe to do so.
A person may remove a mask for eating and drinking.
There are some exceptions to face masks.

Protecting our most vulnerable

Restrictions are in place on visitors to:

hospitals
aged care
disability accommodation services
correctional facilities

Cairns Hospital and Regional Hospitals (Atherton, Mareeba, Innisfail, Babinda, Tully, Mossman, Yarrabah)

Remain open, safe and ready to care for the community.

All appointments are continuing.
No personal visitors are permitted in our hospitals between 5pm on 29 March and 5pm on Thursday 1 April.

There are exceptions to the ‘no visitor’ rule.

You can only visit someone in hospital if you are:

the parent, guardian or carer for a patient under the age of 18
visiting a patient who is at their end of life
a partner and/or support person for a patient admitted for care related to their pregnancy
support worker or informal carer (including family and friends) providing support for someone with a disability.

Wear a mask if you are: