Mask wearing, no dancing restrictions extended

And while the hospitality and entertainment sector have been lobbying for a return of singing and dancing, the ban on these is expected to stay.The government was forced to re-introduce restrictions it had controversially scrapped amid a surge in cases following the arrival of the highly transmissible Omicron strain.The restrictions, which were expected to have been lifted on January 27, included a ban on singing and dancing in hospitality venues, entertainment facilities and major recreation facilities, and no more than one person per two square metres in businesses.Daily Telegraph – News Feed latest episodeElective surgeries were also paused, while indoor mask wearing was required.It is understood the Premier will seek to “roll over” the ­restrictions as the government concentrates on getting the state’s children back to school for face-to-face learning.While the Premier labelled the changes at the time as “minor” and “proportionate” measures that would “alleviate pressure on the hospital system and staff”, the entertainment and hospitality sector have argued otherwise.Hotels boss Craig Laundy is among those lobbying the ­government to do more to help revitalise the entertainment and hospitality sector.While the Laundy Hotels publican had been hoping for restrictions to ease, he conceded scrapping the bans would make “little difference” in bringing Sydney, especially the CBD, “back from the dead”.Mr Laundy said the government needed to change its narrative on Covid with less of a focus on cases “to reduce the fear factor” while also introducing measures such as an ­extension of the Dine And ­Discover vouchers.“We’ve just got to live with this thing,” he said.“Everywhere is so quiet, ­especially in the CBD. People are just not going out. Lifting restrictions isn’t ­really going to make much of an impact.“There needs to be a campaign to get people to start going out again, and the government needs to take the fear factor away by changing its narrative and not focusing so much on case numbers.”
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