Popular restaurants on the Coast and in Noosa have been listed as exposure sites as the hospitality industry gets the jitters about having to close down again at the biggest time of the year.
The latest venues to be listed as casual contacts include Giddy Geisha in the Maroochydore CBD, Miss Moneypenny’s and Bistro C in Noosa, the Noosa Heads Surf Lifesaving Club and burger chain Grill’d in Noosa (scroll down for details).
It comes as cases in Queensland surged again to 369 on Thursday — with 13 on the Coast — and a famous Noosa restaurant owned by MasterChef star Matt Sinclair was forced to close after more than two dozen staff went into seven days of isolation.
The owner of Sum Yung Guys posted an emotional video saying one staff member was a close contact which meant the rest of the crew had to be tested and isolate whether they were positive or negative.
“That takes out about 24 to 25 people of our crew which means we can’t run the restaurant,” he said.
“It’s not really the roadmap we saw out of the borders opening and the rebirth of the Queensland economy, getting businesses going again.
“Losing staff because we had to enforce the mandate to be double vaxxed , turning away people that aren’t vaccinated — for what? Don’t know right now because we’ve kind of ended up in the same place.”
Sinclair said the hit to the business and his staff would be “enormous” at what is the biggest time of the year for hospitality.
The closure prompted a petition which is aiming for 10,000 signatures, demanding affected businesses be allowed to open and slamming the Queensland Government’s “draconian” laws.
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Meanwhile Queensland reported 369 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and the virus was picked up across the state in Banana Shire, Bundaberg, Brisbane, Cairns, Central Qld, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Logan, Maranoa, Mareeba, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redlands, Southern Downs, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and the Whitsundays.
There was only one person in hospital because of COVID-related illness.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned cases would escalate further and would spread everywhere in Queensland.
Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the spread was not only “inevitable” but it was “necessary” as we learned to live with the virus.
“In order for us to go from the pandemic phase to an endemic phase, the virus has to be widespread, we all have to have immunity, you will all have to develop immunity” he said.
“There are two ways you can do that — by being vaccinated or getting infected. There are only two choices; there are only two ways to do that.”
Dr Gerrard said wearing masks was not about stopping the virus, but slowing it down.
Workers and patrons at theatres and cinemas are now required to wear masks, while staff in hospitality venues such as pubs and restaurants will also have to mask up.
Masks are already mandated in supermarkets and shops as well as public transport and rideshares.
Earlier, Ms Palaszczuk vowed Queensland would stay open despite the rapid increase in Omicron infections.
“We want to keep our restaurants and our cafes and everything operating over Christmas and New Year,” she said.
Latest exposure sites
- Giddy Geisha, Maroochydore: Thursday 16 December, 4.40pm – 5.30pm Casual contact
- Ann’s Nails Sunshine Plaza: Thursday 16 December, 3.10pm – 3.40pm Casual contact
- Grill’d, 50 Hastings Street Noosa Heads, 8.30pm – 9pm Casual contact
- Noosa Heads Surf Lifesaving Club: Tuesday 14 December, 6.37pm – 8.29pm Casual contact
- Bistro C, Noosa Heads: Tuesday 14 December 4.30pm – 5.15pm Casual contact
- Miss Moneypenny’s, Noosa Heads: Tuesday 14 December, 5.29pm – 6.30pm Casual contact
