Hundreds of punters flooded gaming floors from 10am on Monday, excited for their first slap in New South Wales in about two months.
A steady stream of regulars returned to Rooty Hill RSL just as coronavirus restrictions were lifted across the country and pubs opened to more than 10 patrons for the first time since March 23.
Inside they found things were much the same as they had left them, aside from a few noticeable changes.
While the lights still flashed, the symbols still spun and the music still jingled, bottles of hand sanitiser were found throughout the floor and players were divided by blank screens, with every second machine turned off.
Monday was also a big day elsewhere in Australia – as gyms reopened in Queensland, Victoria upped capacity of pubs to 20 people and the ACT, which has no COVID-19 cases, allowed travel to Sydney.
But in western Sydney it was all about the pokies, with one tradie admitting he was so keen to try his luck he had snuck out to the Rooty Hill RSL on his lunch break and enjoyed an ‘up-and-down’ hour.
Gaming rooms at pubs and clubs across New South Wales are able to reopen from Monday, but social distancing restrictions are still necessary. At the Rooty Hill RLS in Sydney’s west, every second poker machine was turned off on Monday
From the time the doors to the gaming goliath – which more closely resembles a casino than an RSL – opened at 10am, a steady stream of one-time regulars returned to their chairs across the complex
One tradie told Daily Mail Australia he was so excited to get back on the gaming machines that he snuck away for an hour at lunchtime (Pictured are gamblers at the Town Tavern in Blactown)
While in NSW and Victoria the focus was the lessening of restrictions in pubs and eateries, in Queensland gyms were allowed to reopen much to excitement of suffering fitness fanatics
‘I didn’t have much luck but it was good fun, I’ve just got to get back to the job site before the boss finds out now,’ the man, who did not want to be named, told Daily Mail Australia.
A husband and wife pensioner couple admitted their excitement at getting out and about together had quickly dissipated, after burning through $500 in two hours.
‘Before coronavirus we’d come here most days, but the machines were very hungry today,’ the 65-year-old man said.
‘We lost $500 in two hours, from 11am to now.
‘We’re retired and that’s too much for me. It’s not worth us coming here so I won’t be back for a while, I’d rather go fishing.’
Among the changes to come into force across NSW from midnight on Sunday was an increase in the number of people allowed into pubs, cafes and restaurants, with 50 patrons allowed inside a premise at any one time.
After being shut down in late-March, beauty salons were also allowed to reopen for a total of 20 customers.
Despite not having the answer themselves, many beauty business have been getting calls for weeks from desperate customers asking them when they will be reopening.
Like many women, Pinar Aykut went without beauty treatment at her regular salon in Stanhope Gardens for almost two months.
She admitted it was nice to get back in the chair, but said she hadn’t struggled as much as some others with the hiatus.
‘I normally get my eyebrows done every two weeks, so it’s felt like a long time now,’ Ms Aykut said.
‘It hasn’t been impacting my life or anything. It’s just something nice to have done, a bit of a vanity thing.’
The differences in health advice between states has seen bemusing results with NSW vowing to open its borders but keep gyms closed, while Queensland has allowed to a return to fitness centres but says its state borders will likely remain shut until September
Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered that gyms across the country shut their doors on March 23, but it is up to state and territory governments to decide when to reopen them
Women have flocked back to their favourite makeover salons, with the lifting of restrictions meaning up to 20 people are now allowed inside a store. Pictured: Indian Beauty Secrets at The Ponds Shopping Centre
Simi Kaur, who runs Indian Beauty Secrets at The Ponds Shopping Centre, in western Sydney, said she was expecting the line to be out the door within a few hours
Businesses began returning to normal from Monday as the government eased social distancing restrictions
Pictured: One of the first customers to return to Fresh Nails in Stanhope Gardens for a manicure
Nail salons in New South Wales reopened on Monday. Pictured is one of the first customers returning for a pedicure
The Ibrows Experts salon at Stanhope Gardens shopping centre roared through 10 clients in the first two hours of business on Monday morning.
Owner Syed Abidi said they were booked out for much of the week – a relief after a tough two months.
‘We’ve had customers calling us all the time over the past two months to ask when we’re opening again, so it’s good to finally be back in business,’ Mr Abidi said.
‘The response has been incredible, we’ve already served 10 people in the first two hours and we can only have two customers at a time.
‘The biggest thing though is still making sure all the measures are in place that the government says we need to have, so hygiene is a priority.’
Simi Kaur, who runs Indian Beauty Secrets at The Ponds Shopping Centre, in western Sydney, said she was expecting the line to be out the door within a few hours.
‘We’re already full booked today, because of social distancing we can’t have too many clients at one time,’
‘We’re going to be very, very busy, I expect there will be a line soon, so for the business it is very good after a really tough period.
Federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg (left) cheers former AFL footballer Matthew Richardson at the Glenferrie Pub in Melbourne, Monday, June 1
Federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg holds up a beer at the Glenferrie Pub in Melbourne to celebrate the opening of bars
The Pyrmont Bridge Hotel (pictured) opened its doors to 50 people in the early hours of Monday morning after a two-month coronavirus break
Lee Qaqos, a Stanhope Gardens barber, told Daily Mail Australia business was finally beginning to return to normal
‘The weekends have been flat out, just so busy, we’ve got a full crew on Saturday and Sunday now,’ Ms Qagos said
‘It’s really good to be able to wake up and come to work, I’m just hoping there’s not going to be a second wave of this problem.
‘But we’re wearing gloves and masks, and using sanitiser, so we’re being careful and doing all the right things.’
While beauty salons are only just reopening now, hairdressers were never required to shutdown by the federal government – although social distancing measures were put in place.
But only now that they are getting back to anything resembling normal trade, barber Lee Qaqos said.
‘Early on we really didn’t have a lot of clients, but now we are just back to normal,’ Mr Qaqos said.
‘The weekends have been flat out, just so busy, we’ve got a full crew on Saturday and Sunday now.
‘Weekdays are still quiet but I think that’s to be expected, especially with more people going back to work.’
Some of Australia’s tough coronavirus restrictions eased at the stroke of midnight on Sunday, bringing sweet relief across the nation on the first day of winter after almost two months of lockdown.
Just four people out of the nation’s 478 active cases were in intensive care with coronavirus on Monday as restrictions were lifted to some degree in most states.
In NSW – the worst hit state – pubs are now allowed to open their doors for up to 50 guests instead of 10, meaning it is now financially viable for more establishments to open.
Gyms have opened in Queensland and can have up to 20 people. Pictured: Nicole Hall, 28, cleans weights at Club Bunker in Brisbane on Sunday ahead of today’s reopening
After two months of lockdown, gyms in Brisbane are preparing to open on Monday for 20 people at a time. Pictured: Demi Bertoni, 29, cleaning Club Bunker in Brisbane
These pubgoers were among the first to enter the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel after it opened its doors for the first time in two months
Drinkers flocked to the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel in Sydney from midnight as the inner-city pub welcomed back its patrons.
The state’s 1,500 gyms, however, remain closed to the public, angering Fitness Australia, whose chief executive Barry Elvish called it ‘totally illogical’.
In Victoria, the state with the toughest restrictions, skate parks reopened and up to 20 people can gather for a party – outdoors or indoors – for the first time since the lockdown began in late March.
Restaurants, cafes and pubs in Victoria can look forward to increasing this number to 50 from June 22 – less than a month away.
This customer returned to her beautician for an eyebrow wax and tint as soon as stores reopened
The Pyrmont Bridge Hotel was among the first to reopen in the early hours of Monday morning when the 10-person limit for customers was increased to 50
Nicole Hall, 28, member at Club Bunker in Brisbane, cleans equipment in preparation for opening on Monday
Victoria had an increase of four coronavirus cases on Sunday bringing the state’s total to 1,649 late on Sunday night.
Queensland also opened its state to unlimited internal travel including overnight stays although the borders remain shut.
Cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs in the Sunshine State can now host up to 20 people – with the reform brought forward from June 12.
Bigger weddings and funerals of up to 50 people are now allowed in several states, and nail salons and gyms are now open in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
A gym employee at Brisbane’s Club Bunker vacuums the floor ahead of it’s reopening on Monday
Pubgoers line up before being scanned in and heading to the ‘Sanitising Station’ at the Sydney pub
Pubgoers chat with security outside the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel in the early hours of Monday morning
In Western Australia, conditions have basically returned to a pre-virus normal even though the state borders remain closed.
The national four square metre distancing rule will also be relaxed to two square metres by next Saturday, June 6.
Western Australia’s easing comes despite three new coronavirus cases – one of whom was a three-year-old child – bringing the state’s tally to 589 on Sunday night.
The state now has 28 active cases of which 20 came from the Al Kuwait live export ship stranded in Fremantle.
Freedom: skate parks officially reopened to the public in Victoria today as coronavirus restrictions eased. Pictured: Knox Skate & BMX Park, Melbourne, Victoria on May 26
Pictured: the live export ship Al Kuwait stranded in Fremantle, WA. The coronavirus-infected ship is the source of 20 of the state’s 28 active cases, as the state eases restrictions
More than six million of an estimated 16 million people with smartphones have downloaded the federal government’s COVIDSafe tracing app since it was launched on April 26, helping authorities trace contacts of any diagnosed cases.
The Federal Health Department said on Sunday night it had not changed its stance on not recommending face masks in public despite recent studies showing they cut transmission rates, as the rate of community transmission of coronavirus is low.
Nationwide the coronavirus tally rose by 10 to 7,195 late on Sunday night with 103 people dead, 478 active cases and 6,614 patients recovered.
Globally more than six million cases were confirmed as of early on Monday morning with 371,860 dead, more than three million sick and almost three million recovered.
Customers lining up at the sanitising station to enter the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel in Sydney just after midnight on Monday morning. The pub reopened after a two-month closure as restrictions eased allowing 50 people in. Large venues can fit more if they have separate areas
The latest on the virus and restrictions in your state or territory:
New South Wales
Travel around NSW is now unrestricted, so visits to friends out of town and camping holidays are open without the need to exploit a loophole.
You can also travel to Victoria and back as unlike other states there are no travel restrictions.
Pubs, cafes, and restaurants have been open for a couple of weeks with 10 customers but are now able to host 50.
Most chose to remain closed rather than open for just 10 patrons as it was not profitable, but some watering holes were willing to reopen for 50 last night.
At the Pyrmont Bridge Hotel, which reopened in the early hours of Monday after a two-month break, customers lined up to walk through a sanitising station before splitting up: 17 guests downstairs and 33 upstairs to make the total of 50 work with the physical distancing rules.
In Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales, couples can now have up to 20 guests at their weddings. (Pictured: A couple at Observatory Hill, Sydney, on May 19)
Many businesses – especially pubs and bars – had stayed shut because 10 people wasn’t enough to turn a profit, but have opened.
Some may even be able to admit 500 people if they have enough separate bars and restaurants in the same complex, such as a big RSL.
A venue’ patron capacity can increase depending on the number of restaurants and cafes inside.
So a venue with three restaurants and two cafes, for example, can admit up to 250, provided they can maintain the one patron per four square metre rule.
The number is capped at 500, though hotel associations are negotiating to increase that figure for venues that can safely accommodate it.
Residents in New South Wales can now get a pamper session as beauty salons have reopened
Beauty salons and other personal care businesses are open but must remove their magazines from waiting rooms. Massage and tattoo parlours are still closed.
Museums, galleries, zoos, aquariums and libraries can now reopen but cinemas, theatres and concert halls are still closed.
All of the above are for now subject to the four square metre rule, but in coming weeks this will likely be relaxed to two metres as it is in Western Australia.
However, there is strangely no change to the number of people allowed to meet outside a venue as home visits are capped at five people and 10 outdoors.
Controversially, there is no timeframe yet for gyms to reopen so they will remain shut for the forseeable future.
Weddings can have 20 guests, funerals 50, and churches 50 – not including staff necessary to put on the service.
Public school students returned to class on Monday and non-essential regional travel will be allowed from next week.
Workers have been gradually returning to their offices however public transport has a reduced capacity to cope with them due to social distancing requirements.
A maximum of 12 passengers are allowed on buses while trains are limited to 32 people per carriage and up to 45 people are allowed on ferries.
Before the pandemic, more than 900,000 school students used the transport network to get to school and 110,000 of those caught public transport, Nine News reported.
Moore Park has been turrned into a temporary parking hub for workers to leave their cars as an alternative to public transport.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance warned stations could be closed if they became too busy, while staff would monitor social distancing.
Victoria
Australia’s most locked down state is ahead of NSW with gatherings of up to 20 people allowed from today including holidays and parties.
The new round of easing allows community facilities and businesses to reopen including libraries, community centres, markets, beauty parlours and tattoo studios.
Students from kindergarten to grade two, years 11 and 12, and those in specialist schools have already returned to class.
Businesses have to adhere to strict social distancing rules which include staying 1.5m apart and having four square metres of space per person.
Playgrounds, skateparks, outdoor gym equipment, museums, drive-in cinemas, zoos and theme parks are all now open to the public, subject to distancing requirements.
Victoria is easing to Stage Two lockdown on June 1 allowing gatherings of up to 20 people. Pictured: Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia
Camping grounds and caravan parks have opened alongside hotels, but the use of communal bathrooms and kitchens is still banned.
These have a limit of 20 people, the same as cafes, bistros and restaurants which can now reopen.
Art galleries and museums can also now open for a maximum of 20 people along with zoos and outdoor amusement parks.
Weddings can have 20 guests, plus the celebrant and couple, and up to 50 people allowed at a funeral in addition to the staff conducting it.
Queensland
Queensland is ahead of both NSW and Victoria in reopening, and brought forward further cuts to restrictions by almost two weeks.
Gatherings of 20 people are now allowed outside and inside, and all businesses that are open can have 20 customers.
These include playgrounds, skate parks, outdoor and indoor gyms, health clubs, yoga studios, museums, galleries, libraries, amusement parks, zoos and arcades.
Queensland’s tourism industry will benefit as residents of the Sunshine State can now travel anywhere in the state they want. Pictured: a turtle at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef
Restaurants, cafes, pubs, RSL and other clubs, hotels, casinos, cinemas, theatres, auditoriums, arenas, concert venues and stadiums are also allowed more people.
Beauty, nail and tanning salons, tattoo parlours, and spas can also have up to 20 customers.
However, as with the 10-customer limit in much of Australia, many businesses may choose to stay shut as that is not enough people to stay profitable.
Open homes and auctions and places of worship are also now allowed 20 people.
Internal travel is now free but the state borders will remain firmly closed despite attacks on the policy from the tourism sector and the NSW Government.
The border closures are set for review at the end of this month however Ms Palaszczuk has said it was likely they would remain closed until September.
Tourism bodies from Cairns, the Whitsundays, Mackay and Townsville have called for a North Queensland travel bubble of free movement to help the tourism industry.
Western Australia
Western Australia has already reopened almost all internal travel.
The Kimberley region, parts of the East Pilbara and the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku remain off limits to protect vulnerable remote indigenous communities.
The areas, including the tourism hotspot Broome, have been declared federal biosecurity areas.
The state government has applied to the Commonwealth to have the declarations lifted on June 5, a fortnight earlier than anticipated.
Accommodation and restaurant bookings were immediately snapped up when most regional borders were reopened and the dining patron limit was doubled to 20 last week, but the state’s north and Goldfields region remained closed to Perth residents.
Northern tourism businesses rely on travellers from the south seeking warmer climes during winter.
From June 6, anywhere that is open will be allowed 100 patrons, so most pubs and restaurants will be allowed to open at full capacity.
This is further aided by the four metre rule being halved to two metres, in a promising sign for the future for the rest of the country.
The hundreds customer limit will apply to gyms and fitness classes, playgrounds, skate parks, and outdoor gym equipment.
Also to beauty services, nail, tanning and waxing salons, personal-care services, spas and saunas, galleries, museums, theatres, cinemas and concert venues, zoos, amusement parks and arcades.
Venues with divided spaces can have up to 300 customers, which will greatly assist large pubs with multiple floors.
Full contact sport and training will also finally be back on.
However, the state government remains adamant the interstate border will remain closed for months – despite opposition from medical experts.
Pictured: Cable Beach, Broome in The Kimberley region of WA. The Kimberley has been declared a federal biosecurity area to protect remote Aboriginal communities and parts of it will remain closed while other internal state travel restrictions are eased ahead of June 1
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall (pictured left) announced the guidelines for the easing of restrictions on Monday
South Australia
Venues including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes are now able to host up to 80 customers.
They must remain in groups of 20 and stay in discrete rooms within the business. Pubs may also serve alcohol without food – but only to seated patrons.
Cinemas, indoor fitness centres, beauty parlours, theatres, galleries and museums across South Australia can all open as well, but are limited to 10 patrons.
Rules allowing only one person per four square metres, and 1.5-metre social distancing, remain in place.
Funerals will be able to host up to 50 mourners, with 20 inside and 30 outside.
Businesses must create coronavirus safety plans and produce them on request.
Under the eased restrictions, non-contact outdoor sport is now able to resume while competition for outdoor contact sports can resume from June 25.
Some restrictions have eased in Tasmania. Returning Tasmanians can to isolate at home for 14 days while others have to quarantine at a hotel. Pictured: Hobart Airport, March 19
Tasmania
Tasmania doesn’t have its next round of relaxed restrictions until June 15, and even then businesses will be limited to just 20 customers.
This is in contrast to most other states that will by then have opened their economies up much further and be contemplating even fewer restrictions.
ACT
Businesses, including gyms, can now have 20 people at a time with this expected to be raised to 50 on June 15.
Cinemas, amusement parks and play centres are also allowed to reopen now.
Pictured: Bugler plays the Last Post at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, April 25. Cultural institutions are expected to open in the ACT for up to 20 people from Saturday
Northern Territory
Interstate borders remain closed, blocking travellers from driving in from Queensland, WA and South Australia.
However, internal travel restrictions within the NT will be lifted on June 5, allowing travel to remote areas and Aboriginal communities.
The NT Government is urging NT residents to spend on local holidays to help out tour operators.
Many internal restrictions have already been eased in the NT with beauty salons and gyms open already.
From June 5 many more restrictions will come off and Territorians can even go to a bar without consuming food.
They will also be allowed to go to nightclubs, cinemas, theatres, concert or music halls and other approved entertainment venues.
Amusement venues, community centres and play centres will also open.
Pictured: East Arnhem Land dancers perform at Mutitjulu near Uluru. The Biosecurity Act preventing travel to remote indigenous communities is to be removed 2 weeks early