Royal Hotel Echuca and regional Victorians plead for support

Victorian businesses are being forced to close or reduce their hours as Covid cases skyrocket and staff are forced into isolation.

Victorian businesses are being forced to close or reduce their hours because of staff shortages due to Covid.

As cases hit record highs and testing sites reach capacity, staff have been forced into isolation and businesses have had to shut their doors.

1895 The Royal, a pub in Echuca on the Victorian-NSW border, was forced to close its doors earlier this week after seven staff members went into isolation.

It is the second time the venue has been closed as a result of staff shortages.

Publican Brandon Harpley said his business had been “forgotten” by the Victorian Government.

“In the busiest week for us in the past couple of years we’ve had to close and we’re receiving no support,” Mr Harpley said.

“We were going to close on Friday anyway just to give our staff a break because we don’t have enough people to rotate through to stay open and our team needs a rest after the Christmas and New Year period.

Publican Brandon Harpley at The Royal in Echuca has had to close due to staff shortages Picture: Rebecca Pilgrim

“It’s been hard for us to even get staff. In the past we’ve had casuals who could pick up shifts and help us through this tough time but they’re not there at the moment.

“We’re operating at a loss because we have to pay some staff members leave entitlements even when we’ve got no revenue coming through the doors.”

In a social media post, the American Hotel — another popular pub in Echuca — said it was also closing part of its services due to a “shortage of staff”.

“There’s a flow on effect because other restaurants and pubs are having to turn people away and leaving visitors to the town disappointed,” he said.

“You’d struggle to get a booking in Echuca-Moama right now and we just don’t have enough available seats for people to enjoy a meal.”

In Ballarat, three pools run by the local council have been forced to close.

The number of lifeguards being tested for Covid has forced the council to concentrate staff at the town’s busiest pools, the Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre and the Eureka Pool.

Those in Black Hill, Brown Hill, and Buninyong are shut.

The problems have persisted for at least a week: on one of the hottest days of 2021, Ballarat‘s biggest indoor pool was closed for the same reason.

City of Ballarat acting chief executive Matthew Wilson said the decisions had not been taken lightly and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

“We have to be able to keep our aquatic supervision levels in line with regulations and we can’t do that without consolidating our staff numbers at BALC and Eureka pools,” he said.

“We will always prioritise water safety for our patrons at our aquatic facilities, and unfortunately we can’t meet these requirements across all of our pools at this point in time.

“The testing of several of our lifeguards is also not related to any of our aquatic facilities.”

Some coastal businesses have been forced to close their doors permanently including Cowes’ local sushi restaurant Youki’s.

The shop remained open during Covid, offering home DIY sushi kits throughout lockdowns, but is now on the market.

A notice appeared on the front window saying “business for sale” after it was forced to temporarily close at the end of last year due to Covid.

Family-run San Remo Post Office, Lotto and Newsagent has also been forced to close until further notice because staff are isolating.

Deepak Gurnani from the post office said the situation was “heartwrenching” but that he knew it was the “right thing” to do.

Another post office at Lavington, on the Victorian-NSW border, has also been closed because of staff shortages.