Premier says he understands the frustration and confusion being caused by different rules for pubs and restaurants
Premier Steven Marshall says he can “hear the frustration” among SA businesses seeking clarity on rules for reopening while different restrictions apply to pubs and restaurants – but says it must be done incrementally.
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Premier Steven Marshall has acknowledged the public’s confusion over the state’s coronavirus restrictions but says businesses and other sectors will be given guidelines within days that will explain their obligations.
The government yesterday announced that cafes and restaurants will be allowed to offer indoor dining from Friday, while pubs will be able to offer indoor dining from June 5, when the state moves to phase two of its roadmap for easing restrictions.
Cafe and restaurants will be permitted to have up to 20 diners altogether – 10 indoors and 10 outdoors.
Mr Marshall described the easing of restrictions to ABC Radio this morning as “difficult”, with hotels and other businesses waiting for detail on how they will be allowed to operate once open.
“It is confusing,” he said.
“I can hear the frustration but we’re trying to deal not with one sector but every single sector across the state. It was much easier to put restrictions in place than to ease them equitably and also in a safe manner.
“This is not something that we’ve been through before so we want to basically educate people to do the right thing but our primary concern is to keep the people of South Australia safe.”
Mr Marshall said under the government’s “principles-based approach”, each business and sector will have their own set of rules based on guidelines that will be released in the next couple of days.
“Each sector will be getting their principles-based approach on the types of things that they will be able to do and they’ll respond to that,” he said.
“Each establishment, whether it be a business or a pub or a restaurant, will do their own assessment, or their own COVID safe plan (and) it will be subject to inspection by the police.”
Asked why cafes and restaurants were allowed to offer indoor dining from this Friday while hotels had to wait until June 5, Mr Marshall said “everyone can put an argument forward”
“We aren’t wanting to open everything up overnight in South Australia – we’re wanting to do this incrementally,” he said.
“Businesses say to us the last thing we want is to have restrictions lifted and put back in place.
“There are more cities and countries around the world that have put restrictions back on after they’ve eased them than those that have kept them off and that’s because they’ve gone too far, too fast. We’ve only got one shot at getting this right.”
Some publicans have been toasting the decision to reopen hotels ahead of the June long weekend, declaring this the first step on the pathway back to normal life.
Crows legend Mark Ricciuto, the co-owner of Norwood’s Alma Tavern and Hackney Hotel, applauded the decision to help kickstart regions but argued pub owners also should have been allowed to host 20 patrons from Friday.
“It makes no sense that cafes and restaurants are allowed to serve alcohol but not pubs. Whether it’s financially viable or not to open with 20 or less patrons should be something the publican can decide, not authorities,” he said.
“This is not about publicans making money because it’s going to be very tough for any pub to make money in 2020.
“It’s about getting people back into jobs, about people interacting with one another and getting everyone back to normal life.
“The majority of people in society want to do that in a responsible way and I’m definitely one of those. No one wants a second wave leading to another shutdown or a lockdown. And if we do the right thing, that won’t happen.
“The progress so far is a tribute to SA Health, the Premier and all the key decision makers and I hope they continue to make the right decisions on the way forward.”
On day one of The Advertiser’s Kickstart campaign, Australian Hotels Association state chief Ian Horne called for a June 5 reopening, with social-distancing and hygiene regimes, for up to 50 patrons.
He said up to 20 per cent of SA’s pubs would be wiped out by the pandemic’s economic hit within a year.
Mr Horne was scathing that the number of patrons allowed in pubs had not been lifted.
“This Friday restaurants and cafes will be able to have 10 people inside and 10 people outside and every one of them will be able to enjoy an alcoholic beverage with their food,” he said. “What is the difference between a cafe or a restaurant, inside a hotel or a winery, compared to a freestanding pub? There is none and it is absolutely illogical and insulting.”
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said while Labor wanted to see people getting back to work, the easing of restrictions on Wednesday had led to “a lot of confusion”.
Mr Malinauskas said a restaurant worker could serve a meal indoors from Friday, May 22 “but a worker serving that same meal in a pub dining room is prohibited from going back to work and that inconsistency raises legitimate questions,” he said.
He said many people who had found themselves out of work as a result of the pandemic had accepted the health advice “in the name of community safety”.
But those same workers wanted to understand the advice guiding this week’s easing of restrictions.
“They would like to know the health reasons for why a restaurant is being treated so differently to a pub dining room,” Mr Malinauskas said.
Health Minister Stephen Wade said “while the return of indoor dining and the option of having a drink with your meal was a welcome step towards normality, we must not become complacent about the ongoing need to protect ourselves and each other from COVID-19”.
The reopening of hotels falls in line with step two of the plan, which will come into effect on June 5 and will see restrictions eased on:
CINEMAS and theatres;
GALLERIES and museums;
BEAUTY, nail, tattoo and non-therapeutic massage businesses;
DRIVING lessons;
GYMS and indoor fitness activities;
FUNERALS (maximum of 50 attendees), and;
COMPETITION sport without spectators.
Random breath testing will also restart from Friday, to coincide with cafes and restaurants being allowed to serve alcohol.