Recall that yesterday it became plain that pubs and clubs are ground zero in the NSW virus fight after spreading from the Crossroads Hotel:
It’s all in hand, at Domain:
As of Friday, new restrictions on pubs apply in NSW.
Bookings are now capped at 10 people (instead of the 20 that were previously allowed), all patrons must sign in and be seated and there is a maximum of 300 people or one person per four square metres inside the venue.
Pubs must also register their COVID Safety plans with the NSW Government and have a dedicated hygiene marshall to oversee social distancing, cleaning and hygiene at the venue.
It is logical that medical experts the pub lobby wrote these rules. Via Crikey:
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the lobbying handbook: if you want favourable regulations, write them yourself.
The powerful Australian Hotels Association took that to new extremes this week with a promise to introduce new restrictions in New South Wales pubs to allow them to continue to open — even in the face of a growing outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney’s south west.
In an extraordinary show of just who is in charge of the state’s coronavirus response, Premier Gladys Berejiklian handed over the microphone to AHA’s NSW chief John Whelan at a press conference on Tuesday, thanking Whelan’s organisation for “proactively coming forward” and working with the government to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading at large gatherings.
“It was actually the AHA’s advice to us which said that if you reduce bookings from 20 to 10, it reduces the likelihood for people who may mingle,” Berejiklian said.
“This is a good example of industry and government working together to reduce the risk during a pandemic.”
While acknowledging the virus spreads more rapidly in indoor environments (such as pubs), the premier declared that the new restrictions, developed in partnership with the industry, would be enough to curtail the virus without further shutdowns.
The new restrictions include reducing the number of people sitting at a table from 20 to 10, and stationing hygiene marshals at pubs to take details and ensure businesses are meeting hygiene and “COVID-safe” standards such as socially distancing.
If the AHA’s motivations weren’t already clear, The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that the AHA, alongside powerful gaming lobby ClubsNSW, had been in urgent talks with the government since the cluster at the Crossroads Hotel began, in an effort to avoid measures that would potentially see the industry, or parts of the industry, shut down again.
Both groups had reportedly issued blunt warnings against further shutdowns, saying the move would cripple operators and result in some businesses not reopening.
With NSW staring down a potential surge of cases stemming from the Crossroads cluster, it raises the question of whether the new restrictions will do anything to slow the spread of the virus, or if it’s just a case of the industry writing its own rules.
Crikey asked the NSW government who would be responsible for placing the marshals in pubs and policing the new restrictions. It didn’t respond to questions, but Crikey understands the marshals will be employed, trained and supervised by the hotels themselves.
Because…Straya.
