Victorian pubs are breathing a sigh of relief with news from government offices they can begin reopening at the start of June.
Premier Daniel Andrews made the announcement over the weekend, explaining pub dining rooms, cafes and restaurants will be able to seat and serve up to 20 people from 1 June.
The capacity limit will increase to 50 on 22 June, aiming to allow 100 patrons by mid-July.
Andrews stressed strict social distancing guidelines will remain, specifically 1.5-metre spacing, dedicated regular cleaning, and screening staff to help prevent workers infecting customers.
This comes as the State reports a two-week blitz on testing, conducting more than 200,000 tests for COVID-19 with only 19 positive results. The testing numbers will help authorities better assess how restrictions are working and may be eased.
Community transmission remains perhaps the biggest concern for health authorities, indicating continued untraceable spread of the virus and signalling that easing restrictions must continue. The weekend saw news of 12 McDonalds stores in Melbourne that had to be closed after a positive test result by a delivery driver.
As pubs in NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory begin to come back online, some have cited the possible wisdom in Victoria’s cautious approach to waiting a little longer, with patron numbers that might allow more businesses closer to actually covering running costs.
