In a further bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Federal Government yesterday announced all pubs to shut down from noon, Monday 23 March, necessitating dramatic decisions and minimal options for the industry.
The decree mandated that all restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery.
It has now been confirmed pubs with takeaway or delivery options for foodservice and alcohol sales can continue to trade in this capacity.
Any pubs that do continue to operate this way must ensure they stay within the guidelines. Government and the police have established special task forces to patrol compliance.
The latest measures are atop those already in place: no non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people outside, and 100 people inside. Social distancing recommendations of 1.5 metres between people also still applies.
Some details on how takeaway food and alcohol sales can be done are still in discussion, but it is suggested there will be volume restrictions on alcohol to stave off the panicked buying seen in supermarkets.
In many jurisdictions pubs without the licence for off-premise liquor sales can apply to their state regulator for a temporary limited licence.
“It is critical that venues can maintain takeaway trade under these new restrictions so as to minimise job losses and cater to the needs of the community,” stressed Brad Woods, CEO of the AHA WA, in a statement today by the Association.
The new measures were announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison last night, following a national cabinet meeting. They represent what is stage one of escalated social restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. Further stages are yet to be determined.
Advice is that at this point the directive is to be reviewed on a month-by-month basis.
Yesterday also brought the government’s second economic rescue package for the crisis, taking the total to $189bn; almost 10 per cent of GDP. It joined the $66bn rescue package, which allows some people to access superannuation, doubled the jobless payments, and sees government underwrite 50 per cent of new loans to small business, projected at costing up to $40bn.
“I will be straight with Australians: this will be the toughest economic situation we’ve likely seen since the Great Depression and also, when it comes to wartime, one of the biggest challenges of keeping Australians together and focusing forward since the Second World War,” offered Morrison.
The Prime Minister’s office made claim to averting a complete shutdown of the states, Morrison suggesting he “walked back” the premiers from announcing this. The state leaders were set for announcement, before reportedly agreeing to scale back amid fears it would effectively shut down their economies.
This argument was backed by Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, who says the states had looked to move too quickly. He also does not think it yet necessary to close schools.
The AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) concurs and does not support full community lockdown at this time, although it admits it is not clear on the inevitable strategy for paring back restrictions.
Discussion centres around relaxing measures once control has been achieved. This might require keeping the borders closed until a vaccine is developed, likely more than 12 months, or a 4-6 week total lock down on society.
A complete lock down is seen as extreme and social disruption would be horrendous, and other countries have demonstrated compliance has generally required strong law enforcement or even military presence. However, it would enable greater successes in case detection and contact tracing, and provide the health system more time to better prepare.
Contemplation of a shut down is understood to have drawn frustration within the Morrison government, although the unprecedented escalation of the crisis might see it take place anyway, leaving the government open to criticism of its handling should case numbers jump.
“It’s clear that if we don’t take this step, more Victorians will contract coronavirus, our hospitals will be overwhelmed and more Victorians will die,” stressed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
Victoria alone has made the decision to close schools, from Tuesday, while the other states at this stage plan to have schools remain open for the remainder of the term.
In Western Australia, Premier Mark McGowan announced plans to acquire hotels, where people unable or unwilling to self-isolate could be quarantined.
CUB and Lion have pleaded that the country will run out of beer if their breweries are not designated essential services and allowed to continue production during the isolation measures. Strict safety protocols have been put in place and the big brewers insist there is no contamination risk. If they are shut down it will take months after they resume for supply to be restored.
Major liquor retailers have reported seeing a major spike in the past fortnight in sales of beers, wines and spirits.
Infections across the country continue to spiral, doubling every three to five days. After projections last week that Australia would see 1,000 cases at the weekend, the figure on Sunday night totalled almost 1300.
FINANCIAL RELIEF
Most small to medium businesses (SMEs) will benefit from at least some of the relief and stimulus packages, coming through a variety of channels.
Hospitality compliance firm Leigh Barrett & Associates (LBA) outlines the financial relief might include: deferring loan payments, waiving fees and charges, helping with debt consolidation, waiving penalties for early withdrawal of term deposits, or deferring upcoming credit card payments and increasing emergency limits.
Government has outlined rapid support to businesses through mechanisms such as payroll tax. In Victoria businesses with payroll below $3m will receive full refunds and amnesty for the rest of FY20. In NSW businesses with wages up to $10m will have their tax liability reduced by 25 per cent.
The new Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme will provide guarantee of 50 per cent on new unsecured loans to SMEs with turnover up to $50m. The loans can be to a maximum of $250k and are in the form of unsecured finance, meaning an asset will not be required for security.
LBA also advises employers that they must continue to meet super guarantee obligations for employees during the crisis. More information HERE on the ATO website.
Our rolling coverage of the COVID-19 crisis will continue as the situation unfolds.