Restaurants, bars, and cafes across Queensland, including Lady Marmalade Cafe in Stones Corner, are appealing to customers to be kind to their staff as they implement new rules for the unvaccinated and comply with the requirements imposed by the state.
From 17 December 2021, only fully vaccinated customers may enter and dine at restaurants, bars, cafes, taverns, clubs, and function centres across Queensland. Customers who are unvaccinated could be banned from the premises or restricted to takeaway services only. The following day, Queensland officials also reactivated the face mask requirement due to the highly transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Businesses that will not implement the new rules may be fined thousands of dollars whilst the operators could face up to six months in prison. So, those working in the hospitality industry are feeling nervous as they expect encounters with customers who might be upset by the mandate.
Some hospitality venue operators said that they are worried about their staff who could be subjected to harassment or abuse. Lady Marmalade Cafe’s owners took to social media to remind its customers and followers that the rules against the unvaccinated did not come from their system.
“Be kind to our staff, don’t hate on us if you hate the mandate,” they appealed.
However, the mandate also stated that business owners and their staff aren’t expected to police their customers.
“If customers are refusing to comply and become aggressive, phone the police,” the rules stated.
Read up on the public health and safety measures issued by the Queensland Government here.
