Overview
Since mid-May, Sydney's hospitality businesses have been allowed to reopen for dine-in customers. First, just ten customers were allowed in the door, with that cap moving to 50 from June 1. Now, the New South Wales Government has revealed the next phase for the industry — with number-specific limits being scrapped completely from July 1.
As reported by the ABC, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian, the state will instead move to the four-square-metre rule — which is already in place, but is currently accompanied by other exact caps on how many folks can be inside a certain spot at any one time. The change means that as long as NSW restaurants, cafes and pubs have at least four square metres of space for each customer, they don't need to work to a fixed limit when it comes to patrons.
Also changing in NSW: restrictions on outdoor venues. Sites with a capacity of up to 40,000 will be allowed to fill up to a quarter of their seating — but patrons must be ticketed and seated, and the new rule doesn't apply to larger venues. The move will allow sporting events to proceed with fans in the stadium, and for seated outdoor music and cultural performances to do the same as well.
The news follows the Australian Government's similar announcement on Friday, June 12, after the latest national cabinet meeting. Originally as part of the country's three-step road map to a COVIDSafe Australia, which was released in May, a 100-person cap on gatherings was recommended for mid-July. Now, however, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has lifted this cap countrywide and replaced it with the blanket four-square-metre rule. This has to be implemented on a state-by-state basis, though, which is what NSW is now doing.
As also flagged by the Prime Minister on Friday, music festivals and nightclubs will still remain off the cards in NSW come July 1. That said, the Sydney Morning Herald notes that the state government is considering easing those restrictions — and on bars as well — in August as long as NSW's COVID-19 community transmission levels stay low.
To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
Via ABC / Sydney Morning Herald / The Guardian. Top image: Kitti Gould.