Industries are lining up to lobby for laxer social distancing rules, with the national cabinet set to debate winding back restrictions on Friday.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce the relaxation of some measures after the meeting of state and territory leaders, as Australia continues to contain the spread of coronavirus.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr signalled the territory government would begin gradually easing restrictions following that meeting, saying Canberrans could not live their lives in lockdown.
The funeral industry is pushing to be among the first to have restrictions eased, after a cap of 10 attendees was placed on funerals more than six weeks ago.
Australian Funeral Directors Association president Andrew Pinder wrote to Mr Morrison, urging the cap to be lifted to 50, with a distance of 1.5 metres between attendees and four square metres allowed per person.
Mr Pinder said the industry had taken a financial hit due to the virus, with some funeral homes forced to let casual staff go.
However, his concern was for the grieving families who had been forced to whittle attendees down to 10, and the funeral directors who had been the gatekeepers of the policy at times when tensions were running high.
"I think it's tough for families to limit the number of attendees to 10 people. It's one thing to have suffered a loss but on top of that to restrict the number of people who can join you to mourn the death and celebrate the life of the person who has just died, and to be around you for support and also allow others to grieve properly and fully it's very difficult," Mr Pinder said.
"While we feel privileged to be able to have funerals with 10 people at all - in many countries around the world it's not possible to have a funeral right now - due to the containment of the virus, we're ready now for a staged windback. We could manage a windback tomorrow if requested."
Australia's chief nursing and midwifery oficer Alison McMilllan refused to detail expert advice given to government about relaxing restrictions at a press conference in Canberra on Thursday.
"Ultimately the decision of the application of those changes are those of the national cabinet and each of the premiers, and they in due course will provide that advice to the community, but we are reminding everybody, irrespective of what goes forward, we all need to follow those instructions we are asked to follow for this entire pandemic," Ms McMillan said.
"Just changing the restrictions doesn't change what we all need to do to prevent the spread."
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Ms McMillan said decisions about the funeral industry would be made by national cabinet "in due course" and she would not "pre-empt this confidential information".
Clubs NSW has also put a plan to the NSW government - reviewed by an infectious diseases expert - which outlines how clubs can operate again soon.
"The typically large size of clubs allows us to implement extreme social distancing measures, while our sign-in requirements mean we can keep track of who is in a club at any given time. This means if someone is diagnosed with COVID-19, we will know who was in the venue at the same time to ensure they can be tested as a precaution," a Clubs NSW spokesman said.
"We believe clubs' ability to meet social distancing and other health requirements will give the public maximum confidence about their safety when we're allowed to re-commence trading."
The Australian Hotels Association also laid out a roadmap for pubs and bars to reopen, proposing limited trading to resume in early June.
Stage one would include social distancing principles of 1.5 metres and one person per four square metres, and encouraging patrons to use the COVIDsafe app. However, the association warned the social distancing measures were financially unsustainable in the long term.
"For many, a 25 per cent capacity limit would not even cover fixed costs for a venue - e.g. electricity usage charges (A/C, refrigeration), workers compensation, broadcast licence fees, music licensing etc," an AHA submission said.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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