There was good news for South Australians over the weekend, as a range of COVID-19 restrictions eased slightly in the state.
The state had been moving steadily towards reopening until last month, when a handful of local cases and the Stage Four situation in neighbouring Victoria caused the state government to reimpose a number of restrictions on gatherings and business operations.
At the time, SA Premier Steven Marshall said that community transmission of COVID-19 had been “absent from South Australia for a long period of time” and they needed to make sure it remained that way, to avoid a return to total lockdown.
He said: “We’re going to do everything we can to stay in front of the game.”
But last week, after being declared COVID-free for 12 days, the state announced it would again be starting back on the reopening journey, with eased restrictions coming into effect over the weekend.
Among the changes are an increase to the number of people allowed to attend funerals, weddings and Adelaide Oval. There’s also good news for bars too, with patrons now allowed to be seated at the bar for food and/or drink, as long as the bar isn’t used for food production or preparation.
Previously, patrons were only allowed to be seated at tables that didn’t form the bar, and capacity depended on density. The rule was described by some as unclear and created much confusion for small bar operators, including Leigh Street Wine Bar in Adelaide, where bar seating makes up 50 per cent of the total venue capacity.
Prior to the restrictions easing, Leigh Street Wine Room said it would be forced to close if it couldn’t serve people seated at the bar. Despite most of the seating located in the non-service section of the long bar, and being told twice that their set up was allowed, Leigh Street Wine Room said on Instagram that a fourth visit from police had resulted in a warning that the way they were operating was not allowed.
The bar said last week: “We should be celebrating our first birthday today, instead we’re fighting a battle with one arm tied behind our back and zero support from our government to keep the doors open and our team employed.”
Now, while the density rule still applies, removing the requirement about the bar seating means that there is less confusion and more opportunity for bars like Leigh Street Wine Bar.
As well as this, people are now being encouraged to start coming back into work where possible, rather than working from home. Business SA chief executive Martin Haese said he hopes this will have a positive knock-on effect for small businesses in the city that depend on office workers, including in the bar industry.
“I hope this gives employers and government departments the confidence to start to bring back their teams, because there are many hundreds of small businesses which are dependent on the custom of those people working in the city,” Haese said.
Over the same weekend that restrictions were eased, SA reported one new COVID-19 case, an unapproved traveller from Victoria, however they have reportedly since recovered, with no evidence of local transmission, and currently remain in hotel quarantine as a precaution.
In recent days, researchers studying SA wastewater have also found traces of COVID-19, and although their source could be an already reported case, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Chris Lease said all these factors: “are a strong reminder not to be complacent.”
