It's a familiar routine for many Horsham business owners, faced with another week of a closed shop and cancelling staff shifts due to the continued lockdown.
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Victoria's fifth lockdown will be extended for another week, Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Tuesday.
The lockdown is now scheduled to end at midnight on Tuesday, July 27.
Horsham Athlete's Foot is one of the many Wimmera retail businesses forced to close due to the restrictions. Owner Paul Atherton said the business was starting to recover from the previous lockdown when the fifth was announced.
"There is not much we can do. The longer it goes on the more it hurts, purely because we are not generating income. It will have far reaching effects no doubt," he said.
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"I feel sorry for my staff more than anything else, because they don't have work.
"We were just starting to get on top of having come out of lockdown four, and now we are going into five.
"Understanding we will eventually trade out of what will be a cash flow shortage for many businesses and that will require suppliers to be sympathetic and they may not get paid on time. It is the whole here we go again."
Royal Hotel publican Grant Fielder has been forced to offer seven-day take away meals as his business' sole form of income.
He said despite attempts to mitigate lockdown related losses, there was no way around losing income when businesses had to close.
"There is no way around that, no way to avoid it. Insurance has gone up during COVID. Still have rent to play. Still have to pay kitchen staff. No way to avoid it. The financial impact," he said.
"For a big pub like ours it is huge."
Mr Feilder said lockdowns were a stressful time for many in the hospitality industry.
"If it is any consolation, you know that you'll get through it, because we have gotten through it in the past. But it is a strain on your family life," he said.
"For your staff as well because you can't give them the hours you are used to. That is not good because we see ourselves as a family at the Royal Hotel and a shutdown like this impacts everybody involved in the running of the hotel because you haven't got the income coming in."
Business Horsham ambassador Stacy Taig has been spreading the importance of integrating snap lockdowns into business planning.
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She said while the lockdowns were necessary to manage the spread of COVID-19, the business community was reeling from the effects of consecutive lockdowns.
"The need for it is there, but the impact of it on small businesses goes without saying," she said.
"Now we are looking at it as a compounding issue - a cumulative effect. Businesses aren't clawing themselves out of the last lockdown before the next one comes into play.
"We are going to see a lot more businesses impacted. They are doing an amazing job holding on but there is going to be a need for greater assistance going forward."
Ms Taig also said there was a serious mental strain placed on many small business owners as a result of stop and start trading.
"In terms of mental strain, we already had businesses looking as to whether or not to keep going on," she said.
"When you own a business you put a lot of time and energy into it. It becomes part of you. So to walk away from it, apart from the financial impact, it is just devastating for a lot of people.
"We are all in it together, but the impact on individuals across different sectors. One might be booming because of this and they feel guilt because of that, one person might be doing okay and the other may be devastated by it."
Beyond Blue's coronavirus mental wellbeing support service is available at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au or by calling 1800 512 348.
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