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Monday, January 17, 2022
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Hospitality hit hard again B i Businesses reduce d trading di hours to manage g challenges g
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THE rise in active COVID-19 cases in Wangaratta, now standing at 396 (97 cases in 24 hours), is hurting businesses locally with some reducing operational hours. Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees reports that some hospitality businesses have closed for a couple of days a week to try to manage their capabilities if they did get cases of coronavirus attend the facility. The number of people attending businesses across the city has also declined with Cr Rees believing people locally are becoming concerned about the virus and are staying at home because they don’t want to contract it. “Speaking to other businesses in the hospitality trade others are now shut Monday and Tuesday because they can’t get staff,” Cr Rees said. “In our business Rees and Rees, and the one next door, staff are very hard to find and when you do you have the issue of COVID and isolation if they do contract the virus,” he said. “You almost need an A team and a B team because you can have 3-4 staff members in one day who are close contacts and you can’t operate the business under those circumstances.” Cr Rees also raised concerns about the cost of the rapid antigen tests with a packet of five tests at $50, that’s if you can find them. He has also noticed that the trade has dropped off
BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au
which also makes it difficult to manage into terms of staffing numbers needed. Café PreVue manager Dave Fuller said the restaurant and café is closing on a Monday and Tuesday for the time being until the current operational landscape becomes more predictable. He said in a general sense a lot of businesses locally are reporting that it’s difficult to get staff tested and back into the workforce quick enough with the absence of the rapid antigen tests in town. “Businesses have not been able to put on enough staff to actually man the building and the best way for our café to manage this was to look at cutting out two days which is a shame from an income point of view,” Mr Fuller said. “This allows us to offer our best service if there are only five days to trade instead of seven.” Mr Fuller said the café is still more than happy to accommodate walk-ups for smaller groups and bookings for larger groups are recommended. With the rules easing next Wednesday regarding the isolation of close contacts, hospitality has again copped the brunt of restrictions, as it’s not on the list of exempted industries. ■ Continued page 3
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