Police in Darwin have arrested a woman for allegedly continuing to operate a souvlaki grill restaurant despite being called on to close it after ignoring COVID-19 health directions.
On Wednesday night the Souvlaki Grill and Chill in Nightcliff was issued with a closure notice by police following previous visits there during the week, the ABC reported.
The previous night police said they found that a number of people who were not wearing masks on the premises. The officers also found that there was nowhere for patrons to record their location as required by health directions.
Police said the arrested woman was an employee who continued to work at the business.
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The business has been temporarily shut and ordered to pay a fine of $25,250.
Darwin lifted lockdown measures on Friday that had been imposed after an outbreak of COVID was detected at a mine in a remote location. Under current directives, people are still required to wear masks in confined spaces and to check in.
In a statement issued before the arrest, Police Incident Controller Sachin Sharma said: “It is astounding that individuals are still failing to comply with restrictions imposed by the CHO for serious public health concerns.”
“Shutting down a locally owned business is the very last thing any of us wanted to do at this time,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen that not all members of the community are willing to take on a short-term inconvenience for everyone’s long-term safety.
“We all have a responsibility in this pandemic.”