Horsham business owner Sanae Smith is hoping the state government will allow her beauty salon to reopen sooner rather than later.
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The proposed framework suggests changes to justify restrictions liftings. These include workforce bubbles and changes to meetings and lunch breaks to limit staff coming in contact with one another.
Mrs Smith, of Salon Mode Spa and Beauty on Hamilton Street, has not been allowed to provide services since stage three returned on August 5.
"We are an industry with very stringent hygiene practices, so I'm very surprised we weren't allowed to do treatments," she said. "I've had countless hairdressers come up to me while shopping and say 'I can't believe you're not allowed to work and we are'.
"We make sure there is one person at the salon each day if a customer wants to buy a product, but that is all we can do. If we can reopen and do treatments while wearing facial coverings, that would be good."
"We work in individual rooms, so as far as staff go, apart from when we go to use the computer, we are not touching the same surfaces," she said. "We all take different lunch breaks too."
Mrs Smith said she had received "a lot of community support" when reopening after their first round of stage three restrictions. She said she was concerned residents might not have the means to show the same support, given the federal government's JobKeeper wage subsidy program is set to be reduced from late September.
In Stawell, Diamond House restaurant and motor in manager David Wainwright said repealing restrictions on restaurant dining rooms would have the most immediate positive effect.
He has closed his restaurant during stage three restrictions but serves food to his hotel rooms, where health workers and miners regularly stay.
"I've got a restaurant that seats nearly 40, and I can only seat 10," he said. "I have an upstairs room that seats 60 which I can only seat 16 in. It's not worth putting the heating on."
"Letting Melburnians travel to the regions again would make a difference, I don't think things will get back to a reasonable level until the borders reopen."
Mr Wainwright works with his son, who is on JobKeeper, and a cleaner.
More to come.
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
