Dear Members,
As all will be aware, on the 9th November the Queensland Premier announced a series of measures to be put in place prior to the re-opening of Queensland Border on 17th December, (or such earlier time as Qld achieves an 80% double vaccination level*).
In this announcement, the Premier made a number of statements in relation to limiting access to unvaccinated people to ‘non essential’ environments from 17th December*, including licensed Pubs, Clubs & Restaurants, music festivals, cinemas etc. However, these announced measures will only be formally enabled by the release of the Public Health Direction which has not yet been made available.
The Club is monitoring this situation very closely. We are well connected to a range of advisory & regulatory bodies including Queensland Health & the Office of Liquor & Gaming and peak industry bodies such as Club Queensland & Golf Australia. We continue to receive updates from these bodies about the likely inclusions in the Public Health Direction and implications for Golf Clubs, members & guests.
To date, as before during the pandemic, there is some significant differences in the advice currently available. However, at a minimum, it is apparent that people who have chosen not to receive 2 doses of an accredited vaccine as of 17th December or such earlier date of the re-opening of the Qld border, will be unable to access the Club House, Terrace or shared facilities within the licensed area (eg. Bathrooms, locker areas) and members will have to show proof of vaccination status to enter. What is currently less clear, is whether unvaccinated members & guests will be able to access the Golf Course or Golf Shop environments etc.
It is, therefore, the Board’s view that the Club should wait until the actual Public Health Direction is published to understand explicitly what needs to be done to comply with the Direction. The Direction is expected within the next week. Once the Board have had the opportunity to review this Direction, further advice in terms of how the Club will manage this situation will be made available.
We are also advised that on the 19th November, the Queensland Government QR check-in app will be updated to include a record of vaccination status. Vaccination status can be linked to the QR check-in code via your medicare (app) vaccination record. As above, from the date of effect of the Public Health Direction, record of vaccination status will be required to access the Clubhouse at least.
Greg Seaborn
President – Virginia Golf Club
