Queensland: Anti-vaxxers could be BANNED from pubs, restaurants or even their workplaces

Anti-vaxxers who refuse Covid jab could be BANNED from pubs, restaurants or even their workplaces under radical new plan

Gladys Berejiklian has proposed a radical plan to 'incentivise' the COVID-19 jab

Under the plan, unvaccinated residents would be banned from certain venues

Some businesses will be urged to make patrons prove vaccination upon entry

The federal government will further discuss vaccine rollout in coming weeks

Daily Mail,

18 January, 2021

Those who refuse to be immunised against COVID-19 could be banned from pubs, restaurants or their workplaces under a radical plan proposed by Gladys Berejiklian.

The New South Wales Premier has revealed she is considering implementing regulations that would prohibited residents who have not vaccinated from entering certain venues. 

She said the measures would be aimed at 'incentivising' uptake of the vaccine, which is vital to rebooting the economy, and businesses may require patrons to prove they had received the jab.  

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New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) is considering implementing regulations that would prohibited residents who have not vaccinated from entering certain venues under a radical plan to 'incentivise' immunisation uptake

'Clearly, opportunities to travel overseas or opportunities to enter certain workplaces or venues might be enhanced if you have the vaccine,' Ms Berejiklian told the Daily Telegraph.  

'Some of those decisions could be inspired by government, [and] some of those decisions might be inspired by the organisation themselves.'

The government has supply agreements in place for the, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Novavax vaccines and will start rolling out the Pfizer jab next month.

While vaccine rollout and policies are the domain of the federal government, Ms Berejiklian said she will be encouraging residents across the state to be immunised.  

The government will meet in coming weeks for further discussions on how to roll out the vaccine. 

Under the plan, 'high risk' hospitality businesses and government run-settings, such as departmental buildings, police and fire stations, or Service NSW shopfronts, may require proof of vaccination upon entry.

Ms Berejiklian has previously said a green tick feature could easily be added to the Service NSW App to indicate someone has been vaccinated. 

It is believed some non-government organisations, including hospitality operators, will have a say in setting their own entry requirements. 

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Under the plan, businesses would be urged to require patrons to prove they were vaccinated before entry

'Workplaces might say: "if you're coming into work, this is our preference, or this is what you [need to] do",' Ms Berejiklian said.  

Ms Berejiklian is not the only politician to suggest mandatory immunisation regulations. 

Scott Morrison earlier this month flagged the possibility that it may be a legal requirement for certain types of people to get the jab but he refused to say whether such a directive would apply to health workers and aged care residents. 

However, a spokesperson for  Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the 'vaccination in Australia is and will remain voluntary'.  

In November, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said travellers would need to be inoculated before they could fly with the Australian carrier once a coronavirus vaccine was made available to the public. 

It comes as Australia is investigating reports Norwegian authorities are concerned about the safety of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine after a number of elderly and frail people died after being inoculated.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency has reported 29 people had suffered side effects from having the vaccine, 13 of them fatal. 

Mr Hunt is seeking additional information through the Therapeutic Goods Administration from the company and the Norwegian medical regulator.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has also tasked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to seek advice directly from the Norwegian government.

'So as further information is available, we'll share that with the Australian public,' Mr Hunt said.

'There is no change in our timeframes at this point, but the medical regulator is completely empowered to make independent decisions.'

The Pfizer vaccine forms only part of Australia's response to COVID-19, as there will be a greater use of the AstraZeneca, and home produced, vaccine once it has been approved by the TGA.

Vaccinations are due to start next month.

Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack said concerns over Pfizer is why Australia has not put all its eggs in one basket when it comes to a vaccine, with the AstraZeneca, Novavax and other options available.

'We've got enough doses to, of course, roll out right across the nation, free of charge, and to also provide a vaccine, from February, for the Pacific Islands as well,' he told the Seven Network's Weekend Sunrise program.

'So throughout the year, we're going to ensure that the vaccine is swift, yes, but safe. Absolutely paramount it will be safe.'

There was some good news on the likely take-up of the vaccine from market researcher Roy Morgan.

A survey of more than 1,200 respondents found over three-quarters of Australians say they would be willing to be vaccinated when the vaccine becomes publicly available.

At the same time, just under three-quarters say mask wearing should be compulsory. 

NSW recorded six locally acquired cases in an existing cluster in western Sydney in its latest update, five of which were household contacts of an infected man reported the day before.

However, Ms Berejiklian urged people to come forward for testing amid concerns there were only 12,700 tests on Saturday. 

'What is really important is to make sure that given we are towards the tail end of this particular outbreak, there haven't been other super-seeding events, we want to keep it that way,' she told reporters.

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Queensland government BANS hydroxychloroquine

 Queensland Government 

bans taking 

Hydroxychloroquine

as a preventative measure of 

COVID-19 an imposes $1334 

fine and six months in jail

Prescribing, Dispensing or Supply of Hydroxychloroquine Direction

Summary

Effective from: 7 April 2020

Posted: 7 April 2020

Direction from Chief Health Officer in accordance with emergency powers arising from the declared public health emergency

Public Health Act 2005 (Qld)

Section 362B

On 29 January 2020, under the Public Health Act 2005, the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services made an order declaring a public health emergency in relation to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The public health emergency area specified in the order is for ‘all of Queensland’. Its duration has been extended by regulation to 17 August 2020 and may be further extended.

Further to this declaration, l, Dr Jeannette Young, Chief Health Officer, reasonably believe it is necessary to give the following directions pursuant to the powers under s 362B of the Public Health Act 2005 to assist in containing, or to respond to, the spread of COVID-19 within the community.

Citation

1. This Public Health Direction may be referred to as the Prescribing, Dispensing or Supply of Hydroxychloroquine Direction.

PART 1 — DIRECTION – PRESCRIBING, DISPENSING OR SUPPLY OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE

2. The purpose of this Part is to prohibit the prescribing, dispensing or supply of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of a person, unless it is done in accordance with this direction.
3. These directions apply from the time of publication until the end of the declared public health emergency, unless they are revoked or replaced.

Directions

4. A prescriber must not prescribe hydroxychloroquine for treatment of a person unless:
   1. if the prescriber is initiating treatment of a person by prescribing hydroxychloroquine – the prescriber is a medical practitioner registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law with specialist registration in one or more of the following specialties:
      1. dermatology;
      2. intensive care medicine;
      3. paediatrics and child health;
      4. physician;
      5. emergency medicine; or
   2. if the prescriber is initiating treatment of a person by prescribing hydroxychloroquine – the prescriber is a medical practitioner training to prepare for specialist registration in the specialities mentioned in 4(a) (i.e. a registrar) working under the supervision of a medical practitioner mentioned in 4(a); or
   3. if the prescriber is initiating treatment of a person by prescribing hydroxychloroquine – the prescriber is a dental practitioner registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law with a specialist registration in oral medicine; or
   4. the prescriber is continuing treatment for a chronic condition and the treatment was initiated by a prescriber mentioned in paragraph 4(a), (b) or (c); or

5. A pharmacist must not dispense or supply hydroxychloroquine unless:
   1. the prescription for hydroxychloroquine is made by a prescriber mentioned in paragraph 4(a), (b) or (c) or a prescriber mentioned in paragraph 4(d) in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 4(d); or
   2. the pharmacist has taken reasonable steps to confirm the person for whom the hydroxychloroquine is prescribed has a therapeutic need for hydroxychloroquine for the continuing treatment of a chronic condition; or
   3. the supply is in accordance with a research protocol for an approved clinical trial.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Public Health Direction:

6. Approved clinical trial means a clinical trial approved by:
   1. the Therapeutic Goods Administration; or
   2. a human research ethics committee registered by the Australian Health Ethics Committee established under the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (Cth).
7. Dispense means sell on a prescription.
8. Hydroxychloroquine means the restricted drug known as hydroxychloroquine listed in Appendix D of the Poisons Standard.
9. Initiating treatment means prescribing hydroxychloroquine for a person who has not previously been prescribed hydroxychloroquine and includes a documented instruction from one of the specialists mentioned in paragraph 4(a) or (b) to another prescriber, to write a prescription for treatment of a chronic condition.
10. Poisons Standard means the current Poisons Standard within the meaning of section 52A(1) of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth).
11. Prescriber means a person who, under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996 (Qld), is endorsed to prescribe a restricted drug.
12. Prescribe means a direction, orally or in writing, to a pharmacist to dispense or supply a restricted drug for the treatment of a person.
13. Supply, hydroxychloroquine, means give, or offer to give, a person one or more treatment doses of hydroxychloroquine to be taken by the person during a certain period.

PART 2 - PENALTIES

A person to whom the direction applies commits an offence if the person fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the direction.

Section 362D of the Public Health Act 2005 provides:

Failure to comply with public health directions

• A person to whom a public health direction applies must comply with the direction unless the person has a reasonable excuse.
• Maximum penalty—100 penalty units or 6 months imprisonment.

Dr Jeannette Young
Chief Health Officer

7 April 2020

Published on the Queensland Health website at 7 April 2020 07:35pm

Last updated: 21 July 2020

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/system-governance/legislation/cho-public-health-directions-under-expanded-public-health-act-powers/prescribing-dispensing-or-supply-of-hydroxychloroquine-direction

The floods in Townsville, Australia

Australians warned of crocodiles & snakes swarming in flooded areas… amidst feces (VIDEOS)

RT,

5 February, 2019

Residents of Queensland, Australia are being warned about the dangers of flood waters which may contain crocodiles, snakes and even torrents of human feces unleashed by the monsoon rains in the region.

After several deadly aquatic reptiles were spotted in and around the city of Townsville, state authorities issued a number of warnings on Monday. Locals are being advised to watch out for crocs and serpents in the most “unexpected places” as emergency crews continue to deal with the rising water levels.

Those who come across the dangerous reptilians are being advised to stay clear of the animals and contact authorities. Contaminated Queensland’s waters may also hide unsanitary and unhealthy substances, including human excrement from untreated sewage in the area.

“If the thought of coming face to face with a crocodile isn’t deterrent enough, before you start playing in flood waters you should always remember the distinct possibility you could be wading in your neighbor’s feces. Yes. Their feces,” Queensland Police said in a statement.

Much of Townsville remains underwater after authorities deliberately opened the floodgates of the Ross River Dam on Sunday night after the reservoir swelled beyond capacity amid unprecedented rainfall in the region. The Townsville City Council estimates up to 2,000 properties may have been affected by floodwater. Schools, daycare centers and businesses have been closed throughout the region. The army was called into the city to help with evacuations. Emergency workers are using boats and helicopters to rescue residents from the “once-in-a-century” flood.

Warnings of severe weather conditions remain in effect across parts of the Australian state on Tuesday, with “intense and significant” rainfall expected throughout Queensland. Flood dangers and travel disruptions are expected to continue throughout the week.

35 days of hell on Earth: After record breaking heatwave which saw temperatures nudge 50 deg C (122 deg F) now 1 years rain in 7 days sinks Queensland

Earthwindmap

the Big Wobble,

4 February, 2019

• One year's rain in seven days
• A record 1.16 meters (3.8 ft) of rain has fallen across the Townsville area over the past seven days, with another 100 millimetres expected to be dumped over the area on Monday.
• Once in a century event happening here, it's historic.
• More rain to come.
• Torrential rain comes after weeks of record-breaking heat with temperatures nudge 50 deg C (122 deg F)

Major flooding threatened several thousand homes on Monday in the Australian state of Queensland, forcing more than 1,100 people to be evacuated, after authorities opened up dam gates after days of torrential rains filled reservoirs to overflowing.

“Once in a century event happening here, it's historic.

I have never seen the likes of this before,” Queensland state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in an interview on Australian Broadcasting Corp TV, in a state often hit by cyclones and flooding. Palaszczuk said there could be thousands of homes affected by the flooding.

According to Reuters, a record 1.16 meters (3.8 ft) of rain has fallen across the Townsville area over the past seven days, with another 100 millimetres expected to be dumped over the area on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Once-in-a-century flooding in northeast Australia looks set to worsen as the rain continues to fall. Homes and businesses in the coastal city of Townsville were destroyed as flash flooding washed through streets, sweeping away cars and livestock.

The rain also triggered landslides, which blocked roads and damaged buildings.
Approximately 100 families had to be evacuated from their homes and that number looks set to rise as the deluge continues.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll said Friday night had been a busy night for emergency services.

This is more than the city would normally be expected in the whole of January and February combined, the wettest months of the year.

The Ross River Dam is now at 212 per cent capacity, three times the volume of water that was in the dam on January 27.

The high water level has prompted the authorities to increase the runoff from the dam which, in turn, has triggered further flooding in parts of the city.

More heavy rain is forecast over the coming days and, despite the army sandbagging southern parts of the city, conditions are expected to deteriorate further.

Another 20,000 homes are likely to be affected in the next 24 hours, a significant proportion of the 90,000 homes that are in the city, and Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill urged people to "self-evacuate" and not leave it too late.

Unprecedented floods in parts of Australia

After record-breaking heatwave Parts of Australia now hit with once-in-a-century flooding as monsoon-burst dumps a months rain in hours

Floodlist.com

the Big Wobble, 

3 February, 2019

After Australia suffered its hottest month ever in January when heat records tumbled, they are now being hit with once-in-a-century flooding in part of the eastern Australian state of Queensland and looks set to worsen as the nation’s weather bureau on Saturday warned of more heavy rain in the area.

A normal monsoon-burst lasts a couple of days but this one has been going on for than a week now and it doesn't look like its going anywhere anytime soon.
Earlier today, one month's worth of rain fell over parts of Queensland.

Local authorities issued a number of flood warnings on Saturday morning and told residents to avoid using roads and consider moving to higher ground if conditions worsen.

In stark contrast, wildfires in the southern island state of Tasmania have burnt through close to 190,000 hectares of land, fire officials said.

Chris Arnold, the chief officer of the Tasmania Fire Service, said on Saturday that nearly 600 personnel were working to contain the fires, some of which have been burning for weeks and have destroyed homes.

Some residents have already been evacuated after days of monsoon rains lashed the region around the coastal city of Townsville in north Queensland, a spokesman for the Bureau of Meteorology said.

More rain on the way for flood-struck Queensland

Queensland weather: More rain on the way for flooded communities in state's north

ABC,

29 March, 2018

Floodwaters have begun to settle in north Queensland, but the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says another rainfall event for Central to North Queensland is quite possible.

BOM said the Herbert River had a local peak in Ingham last night of about 11.9 metres, which is just below major flood levels, sending water through properties to the east of Ingham but no water through the main township.

The same system caused Cairns' worst flooding in a generation earlier this week, and has left many areas between Cairns and Ingham cut off.

The Ingham community has rallied to support travellers who have been trapped in town for three days as the district copes with its second flood in three weeks.

The Bruce Highway opened south of Ingham about 7:30am, but remains closed to the north.

Last night the local pool offered free showers for the hundreds of travellers stuck in town.

Hinchinbrook Mayor Ramo Jayo said there had been little damage.

"As it transpired the river peaked at Ingham pump station at 11.9 metres, so it didn't actually get to 12 which was a relief," he said.

"Halifax also peaked at 5.47 metres and at that level some houses would have received some water in their yards and there was one report of water going through a house lower down on Mona."

The heavy rain and concerns about flooding have led to the closure of several state schools in north and far north Queensland.

Education Queensland said parents should check its school closures website for the most up-to-date information.

Those with children at independent and Catholic schools are advised to check with the individual schools about their arrangements.

Disaster assistance has also been activated for producers affected by the recent heavy rains across north Queensland in the shire council areas of Hinchinbrook, Cassowary Coast, Cloncurry and McKinlay.

Anger, confusion about highway water levels

Cr Jayo said there had been some anger and confusion in the community about the closure of the Bruce Highway.

He said there were conflicting reports from the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) and locals on the ground about the level of water on the highway, and late yesterday the council's disaster control centre had taken hundreds of calls from angry travellers.

"There is a significant amount of angst over that highway and reports that there was no water, but there was a lot of water, so we need to get that stuff sorted out," he said.

"The frustration has been that people are hearing there is only an inch or two of water on the road but the DTMR advice and evidence was that there was up to 500 millimetres of water over the road.

"There's conflicting information coming out and obviously that what's causing a major source of concern and angst and people were getting very irate.

"We have to get to the bottom of it — if the information out there is inaccurate we've got to stop it, or if the information is accurate, we've got to sort it out."

More rain on the way

The focus has now shifted to ex-Tropical Cyclone Iris in the Coral Sea, which threatens to dump heavy rainfall somewhere along the Queensland coast.

BOM forecaster Livio Regano said the system in the Coral Sea was heading towards the coast and would shift north soon.

"The problem is that we thought we had a handle on where it was going to go, and now it's not so sure anymore," Mr Regano said.

"It looks as though there'll be another rainfall event this weekend, especially late in the weekend, Easter Sunday or Easter Monday.

"Whether all the heavy rainfall will be in the far north, or it could end up being on the central coast, will depend very critically on where this low ends up

"So to be on the cautious side, expect increasing rain this weekend.

"But the chances that we get the really heavy falls that we thought are getting less and less."

Ingham stocking up

A baker at Brumby's Ingham, Tiffany Martin, said the town had been running out of baking supplies when the authorities lent a hand.

"Late yesterday afternoon the police came with emergency supplies of flour and pies," Ms Martin said.

"We're hoping to sell out of a lot of bread because we've done like 62 white cafe and 36 white sandwich [loaves]."

Ms Martin said despite the floodwaters, it had been bonza for business.

"They're stocking up as well not knowing if they're going to be able to get in or not, so we've been selling out quite a bit," she said.

"They just don't know if they're going to be stranded or not so it's hard to predict."

The rain 'is insane'

Laetitia Herrod, whose family has a farm at Murray Flats, south of Tully, said the floods have had a major impact.

Ninety per cent of Laetitia Herrod's family farm at Murray Flats, south of Tully has been flooded.

"Anything you do on the farm is pretty much just to keep everything water out of machinery, stuff like that — they're not getting anything done farm-wise," she said.

"As far as the cane is concerned, my father-in-law said we're going to take a 30 per cent profit loss with this month alone.

"What we've had this month is insane, nothing we've ever seen."

Ms Herrod said nearly 90 per cent of the property has been flooded, leaving little dry land for their cattle.

"If the rain doesn't let up, we'll start seeing cattle drop off over the next few weeks," she said.

195km/h winds forecast for Northern Queensland

'We need to lock down': Cyclone Nora makes landfall in northern Queensland with 10,000 people told to stay indoors and brace for 195km/h winds

• 10,000 people in the Gulf of Carpentaria set to be shut in as Cyclone Nora hits
• Emergency services tell people to stay indoors in secure buildings on lock down
• Cyclone warning issued for north Queensland as severe cyclone intensifies  
• Extra police officers have been sent to remote Cape York communities 
• Nora is the first cyclone of category three or higher to hit the Gulf in 17 years 

Daily Mail,

26 June, 2018

A severe tropical cyclone has made landfall in north Queensland.

Tropical Cyclone Nora crossed the western coast of Cape York Peninsula around 1.15am on Sunday, according to Sky News.

Part of the Gulf of Carpentaria was battered by the edge of the cyclone on Saturday as 10,000 people told to lock down until the storm passes.

Forecasters say winds of up to 195k/h will make landfall between Pormpuraaw and Gilbert River Mouth bringing 'very destructive winds'.

The most severe part of the storm is around 100km wide and moving around 20km/h.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told communities to move to stronger housing in areas above the storm tide levels and houses built after 1982.

Bob Gee, deputy commissioner Queensland Police, said: 'We need to lock down tonight.

'There will be a certain stage this evening when it will be safe for no one to be out – including police, QFES, SES, health professionals.

'We need to think about being locked down for couple of days. We are prepared to help when we can get in.

'If you want to be safe tonight you've got a couple of hours to do whatever needs to be done to get to a high place of safety.....