Man fined for breaching coronavirus rules after driving to Tinder date
A 27-year-old Cairns man has been fined for breaching Queensland’s coronavirus social distancing restrictions while meeting a woman from an online dating app.
Port Douglas police issued their first infringement notice to the man who had driven 70km to Port Douglas to meet a date he had organised through Tinder on Thursday night.
“The dinner date proved costly with the man not only springing for the takeaway meal, but also for a $1,334 fine,” police said.
A further six infringement notices were issued by Port Douglas police to a group of six people located drinking by the the Mowbray River.
Police in Queensland have issued more than one million dollars in fines for 754 breaches since coronavirus restrictions were introduced in the state, 500 of those infringements were issued over the Easter long weekend.
“if they’re trying to do the right thing and not understanding what’s required of them, we give them the opportunity to comply and then if they do the wrong thing, we take action,” Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said.
Queensland Police said they will be reviewing each fine due to the rules being regularly updated.
To clear any confusion surrounding the laws, Mr Gollschewski said the restrictions were simple.
“To make it really clear with community, it’s unnecessary social contact with other people”.
In NSW more than $464,000 worth of fines have been issued for 464 seperate breaches, including a $5000 fine for a woman who allegedly exposed herself to a passing light rail and spat at an ambulance officer.
In Victoria, 158 fines were issued in the past 24 hours.
As of Monday 987 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Queensland and five people have died.
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