Time to boogie as rules ease

STUDENTS will be able to dance at their school formals, more people will be able to break out a boogie at weddings and aged care residents will enjoy more freedom as COVID-19 restrictions are eased in Queensland.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles on Friday said there were two new cases in Queensland, both of them in hotel quarantine. One is a miner, who recently returned to Cairns after being in Africa, the other is in hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast after arriving into Queensland from the US.

The Cairns case was among 17 miners recently returned to Queensland, two of them testing positive to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Queensland now has four active cases of the virus.

Mr Miles also confirmed that from 4pm on Friday, young people would be able to dance at their school formals, and 40 people would be able to take to the dance floor at weddings. Parties and gatherings at homes have also been given a reprieve, with 40 people now allowed to visit at one time.

Mr Miles and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young also announced that residents at nursing homes would be allowed to go on excursions again under the easing of restrictions. “If they’re able to and well enough, they can go out to the local RSL, to the shops and maybe out to a hairdresser,” Dr Young said.

Meanwhile, paper cards for passengers arriving in Australia will be ditched in favour of a digital system to speed up coronavirus contact tracing and help health authorities verify vaccine certificates.

As international borders start to reopen, people travelling to Australia will be able to complete a new Digital Passenger Declaration on their mobile device or computer, making the process faster.

Currently passenger contact information is collected on paper cards.