COVID: Small businesses in Sydney hit hard by the new lockdown.
With hopes of rapid containment of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak under control, Australia’s most populous city, Sydney, entered a new strict lockdown, dealing another devastating blow to local small businesses.
Sam Sullivan, who runs a gym in Sydney’s Inner West, told Xinhua news agency on Saturday that the gym has lost at least 30 percent of its members since the lockdown began nearly two weeks ago.
“When we first went into lockdown, we tried to use the local park, but it almost seemed redundant. We’re exposing ourselves to even more people by going to the park, so we back from the park Got off and went to the carpark next to his building,” Sullivan said.
Outdoor public gatherings have been limited to two people under new restrictions announced by state officials on Friday, making it nearly impossible for gyms to continue operating.
He is one of Sydney’s small business owners who have struggled to adapt to ever-changing guidelines and lockdown uncertainty, which often leaves small businesses in the dark.
Morgan Stanley and AMP projected that Sydney’s two-week lockdown would cost the economy $2 billion ($1.5 billion), or about 0.1 percent of annual GDP, a bill that would last two weeks as the lockdown lasted. is likely to. .
To make matters worse, the lockdown coincided with the school holiday in New South Wales (NSW), a crucial time for small businesses to increase tourism and for families spending time in the community.
Margie Osmon, chief executive of Australia’s Tourism and Transport Forum, said the lockdown would shorten Australia’s mid-year holiday period.
“Our data shows that over 1.7 million Australians traveled domestically over the same 2019 school holiday, but we are estimating that number will drop by 73 per cent in the Sydney lockdown to just over 460,000 passengers ,” He said.
The NSW government has already announced measures to help affected businesses, including grants of up to A$10,000.
Small business owners are coming up with other ways to adapt to restrictions.
Faye White, creative director of Wayward Brewery, west of Sydney, told Xinhua that the experience of the past lockdown made her more prepared for it.
“I think we’ve learned a lot in the last lockdown, so we set out to take some initiatives. We’ve just had to pivot to takeaways,[and]we’ve tried to encourage people to use this option. has also removed its delivery fee for the U.S.,” White said.
On Friday, NSW Health reported 44 new local cases, its highest single-day increase in the latest outbreak, which prompted authorities to further tighten restrictions, dashing any hopes that the lockdown would end in time. .
Sullivan told Xinhua that he believes the loss of new customer intake and retention will have an even greater impact after the lockdown ends.
While some claimed the snap lockdown was important to prevent long-term effects on the economy, Australia’s Business Council CEO Jennifer Westacott told local media that each lockdown would make it harder for small businesses to return.
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