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How restaurant dining could change forever after coronavirus
South Australian pub and restaurant owners are hoping to reopen within four weeks, but disposable menus and no condiments or traditional bar service will become the new normal.
In a bid to rejuvenate the hospitality industry in SA, Restaurant and Catering submitted ‘low-cost and practical’ guidelines to National Cabinet, which will meet on Tuesday to discuss the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
The industry body in SA is proposing 1.5m between tables, social distancing rules in place for social areas, and diners required to provide their details to staff if they don’t have the COVIDSafe app.
The blueprint also includes only plastic or disposable menus and no bar service or sauces in a bid to get venues’ doors open again.
‘We want the Government to give us feedback about what they would want to add or take away,’ chief executive Wes Lambert told The Advertiser.
Restaurant and Catering submitted ‘low-cost and practical’ guidelines to National Cabinet, which will meet on Tuesday to discuss the easing of coronavirus restrictions
The industry body in SA is proposing 1.5m between tables, social distancing rules in place for social areas, and diners required to provide their details to staff if they don’t have the COVIDSafe app
In a bid to rejuvenate pubs and restaurants in South Australia, Restaurant and Catering is proposing using plastic and disposable menus
Mr Lambert said he is hoping for feedback after Cabinet meets again on Friday.
There has been no new cases of COVID-19 in South Australia for 13 days, with only seven active cases left in the state.
Australian Hotels Association SA chief Ian Horne is banking on the state having no new virus cases until May 20 – the equivalent of two incubation periods.
He said this would give pubs and bars a fighting chance of being allowed to open their doors.
But Mr Horne warned reopening venues too early and facing another outbreak would lead to them closing again.
‘The road map has to be developed in consultation with industry. We need a period of notice to get ready, and that’s talking about a minimum of two weeks,’ he said.
Peter Hurley, who owns 10 pubs and restaurants across the state, wants to see his 600 employees back at work before the end of May.
‘It will be a combination of things that we can move on very quickly, but also issues that will be further down the track and with a timeline presented,’ he said.
Mr Hurley said reopening venues would require a balancing act between health, social and economic implications.
In the Northern Territory, which only has five active COVID-19 cases left, pubs will be reopening on Tuesday, May 15.
The government in the Top End last Thursday released a comprehensive exit strategy detailing how they proposed to ease distancing laws without reintroducing the virus.
Patrons will be able to enjoy a drink, but only with a meal, and restaurants and bars are to reopen with a two-hour limit.
Tessa Jackson, who manages Darwin’s Smith St Social, said her venue wasted no time in planning how restrictions would be implemented.
Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting of state and territory leaders will consider how to relax coronavirus rules before the national baseline restrictions are expected to be eased on Friday. Pictured: Prime Minister Scott Morrison
‘In terms of hygiene we have very intense sanitisation procedures. As soon as someone has touched a surface it is sanitised,’ Ms Jackson told NT News.
‘We’ve also spaced out all of our furniture and we’re heavily encouraging contactless card payment.’
‘The brewers today advised that they are ramping up production so we will have access to plenty of stock in time for the 15th.’
Outdoor weddings and funerals with unlimited guests were allowed from last Friday.
The Top End also relaxed restrictions on parks, golf, fishing and swimming.
In Queensland, cafes and restaurants will open in June at the earliest.
It’ll likely be many months before venues reopen in New South Wales and Victoria, which have been Australia’s coronavirus hotspots despite a sharp decline in cases.
Late last month professor of microbiology at Australian National University Peter Collignon said the nature of social contact in pubs meant they would need to stay closed until September.
Professor Collignon urged the Australian government to ‘play safe’ because of the ‘intermingling’ present in pubs and bars.
‘Unfortunately I don’t think until September this year at the earliest [before pubs reopen],’ he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Winter is coming and that is our next big risk time – for all respiratory viruses, including this one.’
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said last Friday that controlling the spread of the virus will lead to restarting the crumbling economy.
Ms Cash said that in order for the retail, hospitality and fitness industries to get moving again, they need to ensure proper safety measures are in place.
This includes limiting the number of people in a venue at the same time, and encouraging shoppers to shop alone.
Source: Daily Mail australia
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