Almost 40 venues take up offer to expand space in race to be ready for Monday
Pubs, clubs and restaurants are moving to expand the spaces they have available for the customers in a bid to ensure social distancing when they let more people in the doors on Monday.
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Almost 40 licensed venues had last night already applied to expand their spaces to host patrons, as they geared up for Monday’s eased restrictions.
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman announced red tape-cutting measures in a bid to help more businesses make use of new rules that will allow up to 80 people in SA venues.
To make that work, they are limited to 20 patrons in a specific area, and must ensure social distancing of no more than one person per 4sq m.
The changes announced by Ms Chapman made it easier for venues to add to the designated area where they could host patrons, allowing them to open up rooms or outside areas which were not previously covered under their licences.
State Government figures released to The Advertiser at 4.30pm showed 39 applications had been received in the first day of being offered.
The Government expects further strong interest between now and the changes coming into effect on Monday.
It applies to businesses including wineries, pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants.
Premier Steven Marshall has said the second phase of restrictions being eased would help SA get back to work, and was being rolled out in a way that took account of unique circumstances for businesses and community organisations.
“This is great news for SA and local businesses, so thank you once again for working together, doing your part to stop the spread, and enabling us to start getting back to business sooner than we thought would be possible,” he said.
“Let’s continue to work together and follow the health advice as we take the next steps on the road to recovery.”
Businesses and community organisations including pubs, clubs, gyms and churches are also filling in their specific COVID-safe reopening plans, which must be kept available for inspection by authorities.
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Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said the Government had created confusion with regular changes in the rules for pubs, restaurants and dance classes.
“These are uncertain times, but businesses should be able to rely on certainty from the Government,” he said.
“First cafes and restaurants were told they could open, then they couldn’t. Then pubs were told they couldn’t open, then they suddenly could.”
Ms Chapman said new approvals would stay for six months, after which time venues could follow usual process to seek permanent changes in their allowable footprints for accommodating patrons.