Friday, 31 December, 2021
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Main Beach - a story of survival
2021 The Year in Review
56-page liftout Property Guide
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INSIDE
PR OP ER TY
Putting lives on the line By Margie Maccoll
Lifesavers Keegan Cirillo and Steve Crisp patrol Noosa Main Beach.
Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Noosa lifesavers are putting their lives on the line to save others while risking the threat of Covid infection. Noosa Surf Lifesaving Club president Ross Fisher said the safety of club members and the general public was uppermost in their minds and Covid was a constant topic of discussion. Mr Fisher said when Covid 19 first hit Noosa in 2020 the volunteer lifesavers stepped back from duties leaving the professional lifeguards to patrol the beaches. Volunteer lifesavers have now remained on duty since the reopening of southern borders and resurgence of Covid but have been told if they feel uncomfortable carrying out their patrol duties to contact their patrol captain. Mr Fisher said lifesavers were provided with preventative equipment such as masks and gloves and infection control was included in their bronze medallion training. However, volunteer lifesavers could potentially be placed in a position of contact simply due to the way that they patrol and assist member of the public, he said. “If it’s someone’s life in danger we’d be straight out in the water to save them,“ he said.
A Covid New Year By Margie Maccoll Noosa Police are gearing up for New Year’s Eve celebrations with a team of emergency and support workers preparing to deal with an expected rabble, particularly of young teenagers, on Main Beach. Acting senior sergeant Troy Cavell said all available local police would be backed up by reinforcements including mounted police and joined by Queensland Ambulance Service officers and Red Frogs Support Network, operating from a base set up in Hastings Street. Police have also scaled back liquor licensing
to end at 3am instead of the usual time of 5am. He said with Mooloolaba functioning again after closures in 2020 and rain predicted, they hoped for a smaller crowd than last year when thousands of rowdy teens descended on the beach. Noosa is very busy and the restaurants are expected to be full, but it’s not the adults that present an issue for police, it’s the kids, Snr Sgt Cavell said. “We’re trying to make it as boring as possible. We’re trying to change the culture. It’s up to them to go someplace else,“ he said. New Year Celebrations this year will be im-
pacted by Covid restrictions. Since Queensland reopened its borders on Friday 17 December Covid has returned to Noosa bringing restrictions and reinforcing preventive measures after a time of relative freedom. Covid has been detected in Noosa wastewater. Queensland Health identified casual contacts in four businesses on Hastings Street on 14 December and close contact notifications have led to quarantines and business shutdowns. On Monday Peregian Family and Friends announced that one of the musicians at their Peregian Beach carols event on Wednesday 22
December had tested positive to Covid. Queensland Health figures updated on 27 December show 126 cases of Covid have been detected in the Noosa Shire, 22 known to be locally acquired and 84 under investigation. Residents and visitors have stood in long queues awaiting Covid tests and there has been mixed adherence to Covid restrictions. However Snr Sgt Cavell said Noosa residents were relatively highly vaccinated and most businesses had been managing their Covid restrictions without issues. He said police had only been called to a few Covid-related disturbances.
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