QUEENSLAND'S ELECTORAL COMMISSION HAS REVISED PROCEDURES TO MAKE VOTING IN LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS SAFE AND DOCTORS RECOMMEND OTHER PRECAUTIONS AGAINST COVID-19
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WHAT HAS BEEN DONE?
* Those attending 1100 polling stations around the state from 8am on Saturday will be issued with hand sanitiser along with extra pencils but can also bring their own.
* Tables and other surfaces will be wiped down regularly, booths and screens positioned to maintain 1.5m of separation and only 100 people allowed inside at a time.
WHAT ABOUT EARLY VOTING?
* By the time 8am on Saturday comes, more than one third of Queenslanders will have voted
* An unprecedented 570,000 postal voting applications were lodged while 26,000 people registered to vote by phone.
* Early polling booths were opened on March 16, with voting open until 9pm in the lead-up to election day.
WHAT IS THE HEALTH ADVICE?
* "Anyone who is sick should not be going to vote, at least in person. Second of all - people should keep their distance, and third of all - probably if the voting area is full of people, perhaps come back later." - Australia's deputy chief health officer Professor Paul Kelly.
* "We are recommending that those who have face masks to wear them when they are at the polling stations." - Australian Medical Association's Queensland branch president Dr Dilip Dhupelia
Australian Associated Press
