Sunshine Coast Council has today announced its six Holiday Parks will be closed to holiday-makers amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and following a directive by the Federal Government.
Council has six Holiday Parks, located at Dicky Beach, Mooloolaba Beach, Maroochydore Beach, Cotton Tree, Mudjimba Beach and Coolum Beach.
Only essential travellers, will be accepted into council’s Holiday Parks until 31 May 2020. Guests who are travelling for essential, compassionate, or in-transit purposes may still be permitted to stay.
Permanent residents at the parks are also able to stay in their place of residence.
Essential travellers include people:
- Travelling from within Australia and have nowhere to go – those with no fixed address.
- Travelling from within Australia and have a fixed address but cannot return home.
- Travelling from within Australia – and need to be on the Sunshine Coast for medical or family reasons.
- Those who need to temporarily work on the Sunshine Coast
Additional cleaning has been implemented at shared amenities for holiday parks where essential travellers or permanent residents are staying.
Those deemed to be on holiday or non-essential travellers were today being asked to return home.
Non-essential travel bookings will not be accepted for stays until 31 May which regrettably, includes the Easter school holiday break, which is shaping up to be like no other holiday period.
Any future bookings and deposits will be refunded and guests will be contacted regarding cancellations. The Holiday Parks online booking system is now closed.
Mooloolaba Beach Holiday Park has no essential travellers and will close in the coming days.
Council and its Holiday Park operators acknowledged the closure would disappoint many people, particularly in the lead-up to one of the peak holiday seasons.
The decision to close the Holiday Parks to non-essential travellers is in line with the advice of State and Federal authorities in relation to the implementation of restrictions to contain the transmission of COVID-19.
To protect those at risk, under no circumstances will guests be allowed to self-isolate at the Holiday Parks.
These measures are considered necessary to protect the health and safety of our community, in particular the permanent residents at the Holiday Parks.
