SA’s reopening accelerates: Venue capacities expanded as many more businesses get green light to resume trading from June 1
South Australia’s bid to restore 40,000 jobs lost to lockdown has rushed forward. From next Monday, large dining venues will be able to hold up to 80 customers at a time, and many other businesses including gyms and beauty parlours can reopen.
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South Australian pubs, clubs and restaurants will be able to have up to 80 customers at a time – provided they have enough space – in a fast-tracked reopening plan to kick into gear from next Monday.
After a surprise backflip on Friday, which expanded alcohol service to pubs after cafes and restaurants had already been permitted up to 20 customers, Premier Steven Marshall is now going further, in a bid to restore 40,000 jobs lost to lockdown.
Phase two of SA’s easing of coronavirus restrictions will now begin on Monday, June 1.
Under the changes announced on Monday afternoon, many additional businesses will be able to reopen from June 1, four days earlier than previously planned. They include gyms, cinemas, theatres, galleries, museums, beauty parlours, tattooists and driver training schools.
Mr Marshall also announced extra changes for licensed venues, which will now be permitted to have up to 80 patrons at one time.
But because the rules set a maximum of 20 patrons per room, only venues with four discrete areas would have a maximum of 80 customers, and would still have to enforce social distancing.
Pubs can serve alcohol without a meal from June 1 but patrons must be seated, while the number of people allowed at private gatherings will double from 10 to 20.
“You would not want to put 20 in your front room, that would not work at all,” Mr Marshall told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“But if you have a large enough space, especially if you are outdoors, it moves from 10 to 20 as of next Monday.”
Social distancing and cleaning regimens will have to be in force in all businesses that reopen.
The Australian Hotels Association and Clubs SA has been lobbying for those controls to be the most important consideration, rather than a hard cap on customer numbers.
They have also advocated that each area of a venue be treated as a separate space.
Mr Marshall said the fast-tracked changes would get people back to work and a more normal life.
He said the morale of the state would improve as things like a drink at the pub and playing sport returned.
“(It will) get us back to work, get us back towards normality in our state,” Mr Marshall said.
“This is a massive increase in what was originally envisaged.
“This is only possible because of the continuing very, very good results in terms of no or low cases and, of course, the high level of testing.
“We are trusting the businesses, we are trusting the people, we are trusting the community organisations.”
Businesses and organisations which want to use the returned freedoms must download State Government forms and fill in their own plans for a COVID-safe reopening.
These must be kept on hand for inspection by authorities, if requested.
Some businesses and organisations may be able to erect temporary walls to create distinct spaces in their venues.
Phase two of lifting restrictions was originally planned to kick off on June 8, before being moved forward three days to the start of that long weekend.
The phase-two decision also unshackles businesses and activities that are currently prohibited including cinemas, theatres, salons, museums and galleries. Fifty people will be allowed to attend a funeral.
Things which had been allowed in phase one, like social gatherings, churches and community halls, can now lift from groups of 10 to a maximum 20.
Contact training for outdoor sport is permitted from Monday.
Competition for outdoor contact sports starts from June 25 and for non-contact outdoor sport is allowed to restart on Monday.
SA has had only one new identified coronavirus case in the past month.
Mr Marshall said his transition committee continued to examine further easings.
“What’s most important is making sure that we don’t go backwards,” he said. “There are more places around the world that have had to ease restrictions and put them back on, than those who have eased them and left them off. We want to be one of those places.
“We have run a great race in SA so far.”
Phase three is currently expected to start in July.
That could include larger gatherings and gambling venues.
Mr Marshall has said he was not considering a lift in restrictions on the quarantine of interstate arrivals any time soon, with continuing high case numbers in Victoria and NSW.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the changes included input from SA Health.
“We must slowly release these activities so that we can monitor the activity of the virus,” he said.
“We are looking to work beyond that for the next phase of changes.
“We are relying on the goodwill of the community, we will be responding to complaints and we will be doing random inspections as well.”
Business SA chief executive Martin Haese said the social distancing requirements meant many smaller businesses would not be able to use the new 20 person in a room cap.
He said a 50 per cent capacity rule would help many.
“Timing of this is crucial,” Mr Haese said. “Businesses are hanging on for dear life.”
Australian Hotels Association chief executive Ian Horne said allowing alcohol service without food would be a major boost for publicans.
“There is still a long way to go but these changes are a serious step in getting hotels, pubs, clubs and bars back to a point of more viable trading,” he said.
There were no new COVID-19 infections reported in SA on Monday, with the state’s tally remaining at 439. Over the past 33 days, SA had only one confirmed case, while there have been more than 90,000 tests conducted since February.
We crushed the curve, now a new battle awaits
Analysis – Daniel Wills
South Australia is about to shift up a gear, as the balance in the COVID-19 battle tilts firmly in favour of getting the economy going and some 40,000 people back to work.
Around the rest of the world, coronavirus continues its deadly march. The US and the UK have lost tens of thousands, and 350,000 people have been killed across the globe. The disease now has its grim sights on the third world, where more despair awaits.
It’s easy to forget what a job the Australian authorities have done, with just 102 tragic deaths here and a virtually flat curve for over a month now.
SA, a relative paradise within an island oasis, has crushed that curve with merciless commonsense and compassion.
Premier Steven Marshall had recently looked hesitant in the race to lift restrictions, clearly wary that complacency could spark a second wave.
After going harder than most states in the early phases of Australia’s kickstart, by keeping the schools open and allowing regional travel, he watched other premiers go past him with popular moves on hospitality. On Friday there was a scramble to stay with the pack, with Mr Marshall’s late announcement that we could all go to the pub now, with another two weeks to wait before further freedoms came back.
Monday’s announcement means that, not only can pubs open with up to 80 patrons from Monday, but a range of other activities that denote life as normal will become easier in just six sleeps’ time. Social distancing stays but up to 20 people can be in one room at a cinema, salon, gallery or gym.
The pace of change and rush toward the way we were seems to quicken by the hour.
The lockdowns have taken an immense toll across the state. People are out of work and many are desperate. The longer that lasts, the harder it is for them to ever get back.
This next phase will be full of confusion, with businesses and organisations that have unique concerns struggling to work out what it all means.
Police and health authorities will have to walk a fine line between helping those who miss the mark to shape up, and cracking down on those that are genuinely dangerous.
How that’s done will determine a lot about how much public confidence and compliance they keep hold of.
Politically, Mr Marshall has had his finest hours during this health crisis. After keeping a cool head and calming outlook during the fires, he backed up with a world-beating set of numbers against COVID-19.
But, just as he fears complacency on social distancing could undo all our good work on health, fumbling the economic recovery would undo his. The second half has begun.