Regional NSW entered lockdown at 5pm on Saturday, August 14, closing the doors of non-essential retail businesses, banning dining in at hospitality venues and limiting movement.
Border Inn licensee Adrian Daly was at the football in Deniliquin when he heard his Moama pub would have to close three hours later, just before dinner time.
“You always have perishables and food ready to go for weekends, so now we’re doing a little bit of takeaway to try to use it up, but politicians probably don’t think of that with the short notice,” he said.
“Sometimes politicians need to be held to account for their decision making because they’ve got to understand people’s livelihoods and mental health is at stake.
“We’ve been reasonably lucky on this side of the river but the Echuca businesses suffer with constant restrictions and shutdowns. They’ve been probably doing it harder than us and now it’s our turn to take a hit.”
Mr Daly said he felt for all businesses being impacted and said the community was in it together.
“We’re the local pub where we have a couple of old blokes who come in every day just to have a yap to their mate. They’re the ones that hit home for me, I think ‘what are they doing now’?” he said.
The Murray River Council area has never recorded a case of COVID-19, but Sydney’s Delta outbreak has started to spread into regional areas, including to Dubbo, where more than 90 cases have been recorded.
“My opinion is (the NSW lockdown) had to happen, and I think it probably should’ve happened a few weeks prior to ensure the virus didn’t take hold,” Moama Echuca Florist owner Kerrie Dean said.
“(The business) had some very good years prior to this so that will help get me through the quieter times, but my priority is keeping people safe.”
She said the store had been busy when border restrictions were put in place, with people getting flowers delivered to family members they were now unable to visit.
“Even when people don’t need flowers they still buy them. The community does rally around the local businesses,” she said.
“Lis Scott has made a Facebook page called What’s Open in Echuca-Moama and the amount of support we get because of her page is amazing.”
Rich River Golf Club sales and marketing manager Paul Lavars said the club was disappointed with the announcement.
“We understand the seriousness of what’s happening in Sydney, and Dubbo to a lesser extent, but we’re still a long, long way from it,” he said.
“We just thought it was a really dramatic solution to shut down the entire state considering the economy is struggling so badly that I don’t know how they think we’ll get through this.
“We’ve had to stand everyone down, everybody’s getting the disaster subsidy, but we’re earning absolutely no income. Our doors are shut the same as the rest of Moama.
“It’s really devastating.”
Before the lockdown announcement, most Moama businesses were not accessible for Echuca residents, with only essential reasons permitted for crossing the NSW-Victoria border.
“At the basic minimum we need not just the border bubble but even everyday life with Echuca residents,” Mr Lavars said.
“We’re relying on Moama business at the moment and now Moama’s been shut down, so we are down to nothing.
“We’re hoping at some stage we can start to deal with our Echuca people – which is really just asking to deal with our own community. We’re completely cut in half and it’s really dire at the moment.”
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