‘Plan for worst-case COVID-19 scenario,’ Mayor warns local businesses

Mayor of the Goondiwindi Region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM is encouraging local businesses to plan and prepare for worst-case COVID-19 scenarios such as extended border closures or a local lockdown.

“People need to start thinking about what will happen if the whole local government area gets locked down,” the Mayor said. “The time to have a plan in place was yesterday.

“What we’re seeing in New South Wales is an outbreak with cases creeping closer and closer to our region’s border. The testing results and case locations are up to five days old and there are very low rates of testing in some locations, so the reality is that we’re at greater risk than we’ve been before.

“We need to seriously consider the possibility of extended or stricter border closures, local workers being identified as close contacts or a positive case, or even a local lockdown like we’ve seen in Indooroopilly.

“Council is having strategic discussions with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and AgForce with harvest just around the corner, and I encourage businesses to consider what planning they’ll need if restrictions continue into the coming months. Queensland Health has provided an opportunity for farms to develop their own Quarantine Management Plan for approval. I encourage you to start this process as soon as possible to allow you some certainty for how to operate during harvest.”

The Goondiwindi Region’s Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG) was ‘stood up’ on Thursday 19 August in recognition of the local risk. Cr Springborg said the LDMG is meeting almost daily and working with local emergency services such as hospitals, ambulance crews and local police to ensure plans are in place to meet the basic needs of the community in the scenario of a local lockdown or similar.

The Mayor said local businesses should be following suit and is urging people to plan for the following possibilities as a minimum:

• Stricter and/or extended Queensland border restrictions for an indefinite period
• A local worker being identified as a close contact and being required to quarantine for 14 days
• A local worker testing positive for COVID-19 and being required to quarantine; other workers being identified as close contacts and also being required to quarantine for 14 days
• The Goondiwindi Region and/or neighbouring LGAs being locked down

“What is the plan if an employee becomes a close contact due to being on-farm or at a servo at the same time as a positive case?” Cr Springborg said. “What happens if a worker tests positive and all staff are then given a directive to stay at home? Businesses need to know those answers.”

The Mayor is also asking local families to be aware of the seriousness of the situation and to get plans in place.

“At a minimum, I think we need to expect that the NSW-QLD border situation is going to be ongoing for some time and we need to plan for different eventualities.

“That means thinking about the September school holidays and what your plan will be if restrictions continue and your child at boarding school is unable to re-enter Queensland. And what will happen if you are required to isolate due to being a close contact or positive case, and can’t leave for any reason - including shopping?

“We need to realise that the Delta variant is not the same as what we were dealing with last year. Hopefully, we won’t have to implement these worst-case plans. But my message is: don’t wait until something happens to get your plan in place – as a community, we need to prepare now.”

For support and resources about mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19, visit: https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/keep-well/mental-wellbeing