Last Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced a partial lifting of restrictions, made possible by improved data on the spread of coronavirus in the city.
However, there was no good news for the restaurant industry, one of the most affected by the second lockdown.
Highlights
- The government of Victoria has imposed very strict targets to allow the complete reopening of the restaurant industry.
- At first, it will be possible to provide service only outdoors.
- A trade association has shared with the government a proposal of its own to ensure the safety of the public and workers and at the same time allow a reopening in a shorter time.
According to the roadmap laid out by the government of Victoria, the partial reopening of food premises will be possible only during the third phase, which will privilege outdoor service.
In order to reach this phase, however, the government has imposed two conditions: the first is that there should be an average number of new daily cases of less than five in 14 days, while the second condition is that there needs to be less than five cases without unknown origin within 14 days.
This is a roadmap that some people believe to be too restrictive, which is why in recent days a trade organisation has proposed a new set of guidelines to ensure the safety of the public and workers and at the same time allow restaurants to reopen sooner.
Among the proposals, which will now be considered by the authorities, are keeping for 28 days a register with names and details of all customers, the elimination of shared dishes from the menu and no condiments left on the tables, and the use of laminated menus.
In the light of this news, we asked the listeners of SBS Italian whether they think that restaurants should be allowed to reopen sooner or whether they prefer to follow the more cautious steps outlined by the government.
Listen to the debate in Italian:
LISTEN TO
Melbourne, i ristoratori chiedono a gran voce di poter riaprire in sicurezza
SBS Italian
21:28
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