Local businesses are cheering after the recent announcement that close contacts of a COVID positive person will no longer have to isolate, provided they test negative themselves.
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The change to restrictions is set to alleviate the pressure business owners have been facing with staff shortages and Piccolo's on William manager Amber Gorst thinks it will be a very positive change.
"I know with staff we had some close contacts and we lost a lot of staff due to that and we had to close our doors for a few days which lost us a lot of money," Ms Gorst said.
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"If you're safe and you're well and you're happy to come to work then I think it's a good idea."
Ms Gorst said she has noticed a lot more people are now visiting Bathurst which is great for business, but the combination of staff shortages and an increase in customers has been a bit overwhelming.
She expects the easing of restrictions will make a big difference.
Though there will be no changes for positive cases, close contacts will be free to go about their daily routines provided they have no symptoms and follow a number of guidelines set by the NSW Government.
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The guidelines include taking daily RAT tests, wearing a mask in indoor settings and not visiting hospitals, aged care, disability or correctional facilities.
The Knickerbocker Hotel manager Scott Maguire said he hopes easing the restrictions will be a good step forward for all businesses after they've been so heavily impacted by the isolation regulations.
"I'm hoping it does help out, everyone's in the same boat I think, everyone's short on staff," he said.
"It was an uncertain thing too, we only had skeleton numbers as it was, and then someone turned around and said I can't come [to work] and they were with someone else and they can't come.
"It hurts."
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Country Coffee owner Kim Anderson is also pleased about the announcement, having battled staff shortages for a while.
Ms Anderson said it has not only been tough for the staff working hard to keep things running but for the staff having to use up their leave while isolating.
"I think it will be a positive move forward and help us to maintain a better balance in our team's work environment," she said.
"I'm just happy that it'll free people to be able to keep their shifts going and support the team."
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said it is a common sense decision to lift the isolation rules for people who are deemed to be close contacts.
"These isolation rules have been necessary but thanks to our strong vaccination rates, we can make the changes announced today," Mr Perrottet said.
"This will provide immediate relief for so many workforces and businesses who have been hit hard by labour shortages as people are forced to isolate because they are a household contact.
"As the pandemic has evolved so has our response and this is another example where we have been able to make necessary changes safely and in a measured way."
More information on the easing of restrictions and the guidelines that still need to be followed can be found of the NSW Government website.
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