Churches are already turning people away as pubs prepare to go bankrupt under new emergency laws banning more than 100 people from gathering in the same place indoors.
The coronavirus pandemic was radically changing everyday life in Australia, only hours after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the almost unprecedented decree.
Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral had a sign on the front door advising Catholic parishioners early on Wednesday afternoon of the new crowd limit, designed to arrest the spread of COVID-19.
‘Only 100 people may gather inside,’ printed out sign said.
Church staff across the road from Hyde Park asked worshippers if they had come to attend a service or look at the the historic building and its architecture.
A staff member at St Mary’s Cathedral keeps count as people enter the church for an afternoon mass, following the federal government’s ban on non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people
A sign on the cathedral door was hastily put together on Wednesday morning following Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement
Tourists were turned away, while people hoping to attend mass were counted at the door.
‘We’re asking people to spread out because of the coronavirus,’ a church worker said.
‘Because of the new laws we can only have 100 people inside, including the clergy and staff.’
A short drive away, the daunting reality of counting patrons was also being practised at Souths Juniors in Kingsford, one of Sydney’s biggest poker machine venues.
A woman stood at the door with a counter in her hand, only three hours after Mr Morrison’s announcement.
With restaurants, gaming areas and a fitness centre all under the one roof, the club’s board of directors met urgently on Wednesday morning to discuss how they would police and even interpret the new regulations.
At the time Daily Mail Australia attended there were more than 300 people on the premises, but it there did not appear to be more than 100 in any one space.
Liam O’Keeffe, the publican of The Welcome Hotel at Rozelle, in Sydney’s inner-west, feared pubs would be forced to close, if they were restricted to having 100 inside, including the staff.
‘It could be the nail in the coffin for a lot of businesses,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘There will be businesses out there that are already struggling significantly and this will mean they will probably close their doors.’
Scott Young, the owner of Churchill’s Sports Bar (pictured) in Kensington, Sydney, said he was not sure how his business would handle the new laws
At Souths Juniors club just up the road, a woman was using a counter at the door to ensure the premises did not become too full – but there was confusion over whether the law applied to the whole precinct, or to a single floor of the multi-storey building
Mr O’Keeffe, who has run the family pub for seven years, said his venue needed to have at least 300 people inside to be profitable on a Friday or Saturday night.
With up to 20 people on duty during a busy night, his business would be restricted to having only 80 patrons inside at a time when half his 13 casual staff have had to lose their shifts.
To survive, he is hoping more patrons buy alcohol at the bottle shop or order takeaway food as he employs fewer people.
‘If I cut back on staff then we can maintain, probably not profitability, but at least we’re not sinking in the mud,’ Mr O’Keeffe said.
The Welcome Hotel, most likely, won’t be making a windfall on Anzac Day, traditionally the most lucrative day of the year.
A party for the local Balmain Tigers AFL club and a 60th birthday bash have already been cancelled for this weekend.
The Churchill’s Sports Bar, at Kensington in Sydney’s south-east, has already begun stockpiling kegs of beer in case supply lines were shut down.
Scott Young, the publican for the past three decades, said the 100-person cap would hurt his business, which relies on crowds to justify the cost of buying the rights to televise world title fight boxing bouts.
‘The biggest fear is that we’ll have to shut completely,’ he said.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales is among the ‘non-essential’ services who will be forced to comply with the 100 person limit. A gallery spokesperson said they were in ‘active discussions’ about the implications to them
‘Pubs are normally very lucky, we’re quite malleable and can react very quickly to try and stay relevant – but there’s so many changes at the minute it’s hard.
‘If it’s a 100 person limit then that’s what it is, we just have to deal with it, but we’ll make an effort to look after the regulars.’
Numbers were down even before Mr Morrison’s 9am announcement in Canberra.
‘In saying that, today it’s dead,’ Mr Young said. ‘Normally there’d be five times as many people, probably more.
‘Over the last few weeks its been a steady decline, but since Friday its been a big drop off.’
The pub’s manager David Gregory said their inability to show pay-per-view events, like last month’s Tyson Fury versus Deontay Wilder boxing world title fight, would hit business.
The biggest fear is that we’ll have to shut… completely
Scott Young, Churchill’s Sports Bar owner
At a cost of $2600 to screen the fight, Mr Gregory said that with a maximum of 100 patrons they could simply not afford to show it.
‘If you run your pub 365 days a year, you rely on some certain days to get your big earns every few months,’ he said.
‘We normally show every single fight. We even buy the dead ones at 4am just because everyone knows you can watch every fight here at Churchill’s.
‘It’s not like we do entertainment or any of that, all we do is sport and at the moment there ain’t much sport. You’re in strife if you can’t get those earns.’
The Australian Hotels Association, the national umbrella group for 5,000 hotels, said the rule would be devastating for business.
‘There’s no doubt this ban on more than 100 people gathering in venues will have a devastating impact on our workforce of more than 250,000 and will also impact our millions of patrons across Australia,’ the group’s chief executive Stephen Ferguson said in a statement on Wednesday.
Think Inc, a touring events company, is already postponing until 2021 speaking tours featuring controversial figures, including ethicist Peter Singer.
While it is not affected by the 100 person limit, the concourse around the Sydney Opera House was noticeably empty on Wednesday morning
Public transport is considered an essential service, but Sydney’s famous ferries were down on passengers on Wednesday
Sold-out events planned for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland in June are now being moved to April 2021, with 4,000 tickets sold.
Think Inc director Suzi Jamil said international flight bans and social distancing rules had forced her group to move forums online.
‘It’s an incredibly difficult time for everyone in the events industry having to postpone or cancel events,’ she told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
‘We’re looking for alternative ways to run events and that means live streams and online events while we’re all in quarantine.
‘We’re still trying to provide what our audiences are looking for.’
The Sydney Opera House announced it has cancelled all performances until at least March 29, but this is likely to be extended as customers are refunded.
Crown Resorts has this week introduced social distancing measures at its Melbourne and Perth casinos.