MONDAY was a great day for business in the Bathurst region, coming after a tough two months in lockdown.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bathurst Business Chamber president Catherine Fitzsimons welcomed the end to lockdown, having spent her day visiting a number of different businesses.
She said there was "cautious optimism" in the business community as they adjusted to the new demands on staff.
"All of them I've seen so far are dealing with the additional check-in procedures, not just making sure people have QR-coded in, but making sure they check their vaccination status," she said.
"So that seems to be slowing the in and out of businesses, and that puts a little bit of a damper on things, but you can tell that they are very happy to be open, even under these conditions."
Under the NSW roadmap, businesses are required to take reasonable measures to ensure that their patrons are vaccinated.
Ms Fitzsimons said it would be challenging for businesses, particularly as they get busier over the coming weeks, but all the people she had spoken to understand that it's the "cost of opening up again".
"It's a challenge, it's an extra layer of work that's being imposed on the businesses, but I don't know that there's any other way to do it," she said.
"We're all in this together. If we want to limit the spread of this, we're going to have to take some precautions and the precaution at the moment is that access is only available to those who have double vaccination.
"Unfortunately there is no other way at the moment of doing that other than having the businesses doing the checking. That is onerous, there's no question about it, and it slows down the business, but that is vastly preferable to being closed down.
"I'm not hearing people complain about it. I'm just noticing people struggling, but dealing with it."
On Monday, premier Dominic Perrottet encouraged "greater patience from patrons" when visiting businesses, particularly while people need to use two separate apps to enter a venue.
Ms Fitzsimons echoed his comments.
"I hope that people are abiding by the rules and not taking [their frustration] out on businesses, but it remains to be seen," she said.
She encouraged people to have their proof of vaccination ready to show when they arrive at a business to make the check-in process quicker.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News