NSW travel restrictions to ease: Central Coast community ‘broadly’ supports move
The message back in March was “stay away” from the Central Coast. Now with regional travel allowed from June 1, there is a mix of excitement and caution across the region.
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The announcement that regional travel will be allowed in under two weeks has sparked mixed reactions across the Central Coast.
While many are excited about kickstarting the economy and seeing businesses reopen, others are concerned about health risks and are urging everyone to remain vigilant.
Along with lifting the travel ban, pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes will be allowed to have 20 people as part of the next stage of easing COVID-19 restrictions which comes into place from June 1.
Gosford/Erina and Coastal chamber of commerce president Rod Dever said the coast now needed to be reactive and devise a strategy to relaunch.
“We were quick to get the message ‘don’t come here’ during lockdown, now we need to get the message out to come back,” he said.
“It’s great for the coast, we desperately need to get our doors open and make sure our retail and hospitality sector is ticking over.
“I have heard mixed reactions. We have lost a level of business confidence and while there are now opportunities there are still many challenges along with the ongoing concern about risk.”
Mr Dever said the new rules may not help many of the cafes and restaurants who had been “doing it tough”.
“While the restrictions are lifting, it’s still not viable for a lot of places that can only seat a small number of people with social distancing rules,” he said.
“You can’t have a chef and staff in all day for a maximum of 10 or 20 people. A lot of places are choosing to continue as they did in lockdown.”
Australian Reptile Park director Tim Faulkner said the news about travel was encouraging.
“Organisations like us can begin to thrive again,” he said. “The phones are already ringing off the hook.”
Mr Faulkner said the park is currently working on its reopening strategy, looking at personal tours in small groups rather than shows and demonstrations which attract crowds.
“No date has been set yet, but we want to get it right,” he said.
“We look forward to opening our doors very soon.”
The park’s online educational shows will also come to a close as full time school recommences next week, however Mr Faulkner said they were thrilled that the shows attracted 10.6 million viewers.
Crowne Plaza Terrigal’s general manager Ryan South took to social media today to say they were excited by the travel announcement and had received many calls regarding reservations.
However he said the Crowne Plaza, which closed on April 9, did not have a confirmed reopening date at this stage for any of its facilities including the popular Florida Beach Bar.
There are currently no live cases of COVID-19 on the Central Coast, according to the latest figures from Central Coast Local Health District.
The number of cases has remained at 117 for the past few weeks, with all of them released from daily follow up services. More than 15,400 tests have been carried out.
Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Adam Crouch said health advice showed low case numbers across NSW.
“My main focus is the safety and wellbeing of our community,” he said.
“The feedback I have received shows our Central Coast community broadly supports the lifting of travel restrictions. This is welcome news for Central Coast businesses and will help to kickstart our local economy.”
Mayor Lisa Matthews has urged the community not to become complacent.
“Our track record so far in minimising the risk of spread of COVID-19 in the Central Coast region is a result of our community diligently practising physical distancing, good hand hygiene and looking out for one another,” she said.
“I encourage you all to continue to adhere to the current restrictions in place, reduce the risk of contracting or spreading the virus and act responsibly.”