By Genevieve Waldie
Like the rest of Australia, after two months of enforced hibernation, the Gold Coast is now slowly resuming activity – though with many changes.
Multiple Gold Coast council services now require pre-booking, all council customer services are cashless, and social distancing rules apply.
During the most extreme level of restrictions, even the famous Gold Coast beaches were closed except to locals for exercise purposes only.
The Easter long weekend, usually sees beaches packed with visitors and locals enjoying the late summer, was a quiet affair.
Finally, however, the irrepressible Gold Coast is back.
While both Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Mayor Tom Tate still support the closure of the Queensland borders, they are encouraging all Queenslanders to travel to the Gold Coast and other tourist destinations to help restart the economy.
With school holidays just around the corner, Mayor Tom Tate said the GC Council were working around the clock to ensure facilities could reopen in a safe and measured way as soon as possible.
“It’s very important we do this safely and with appropriate planning in place so that we do not breach any guidelines but also make it an enjoyable and hassle-free experience for users,” Mayor Tate said.
Opening again
Gold Coast beaches are all open for both exercise and recreational activities, as are all council parks, dog parks and off-leash dog areas are open, with patrons required to observe appropriate social distancing at all times.
Selected sporting facilities open from June 6. Major venues including Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre, Coomera Indoor Sports Centre, Carrara Sports Complex will be open for selected sports with bookings required and player number restrictions enforced.
Swimming pools are expected to open in the next few weeks. The Gold Coast, Palm Beach & Miami pools will be the first to open on June 22 with social distancing measures in place. Other pools will follow. Lane bookings may be essential.
The Gold Coast Council Active and Healthy program, which went online during restrictions is now resuming selected community exercise programs and services. Bookings required.
If you’ve read all your library books – possibly twice, Council Libraries are open for returns via 24 hour return chutes. Other services will return in the coming weeks.
Home of the Arts (HOTA) is reopening the cinemas on June 6 though other services remain closed. Cinema tickets must be pre-booked online.
If you’ve had a big COVID clean up – all waste and recycling centres are open to all and operating with normal hours. Limited parking made available to help enforce social distancing.
The Gold Coast major theme parks are still working with the QLD state government to confirm their COVID-Safe plan and opening date. In the meantime, head to the beaches where there is no booking required – though the water is getting cold.