PASSPORT TO PARTY

MARKETS, nightclubs and casinos will reopen under new rollback measures which will allow one person per two square metres from tomorrow.

Indoor gatherings will be capped at 250 people, and outdoor gatherings at 500, allowing for many events to return to normal.

The Tasmanian business community has celebrated the easing of restrictions, saying it will breathe much-needed life back into struggling venues that haven’t been able to reopen.

THE reopening of nightclubs, gambling venues and community sport with relaxed social distancing rules will spearhead Tasmania’s return to near-normalcy this weekend.

The state will step down to stage three coronavirus restrictions almost three weeks ahead of schedule, removing the most onerous of the remaining rules.

From noon tomorrow, up to 500 people will be allowed at outdoor venues and events, with 250 people “on a per space basis” indoors. Household visits will remain limited to 20.

Social distancing density limits will be relaxed to one person per two square metres, down from four square metres.

Subject to those limits, casinos and gaming venues, markets, food courts and food vans will be allowed to recommence trading. So too will spas, bath houses, float tank operators, strip clubs, nightclubs and sex workers. Garage sales and car boot sales also are once more permitted.

One of the major beneficiaries of the announcement is community sport, although people will be discouraged from using changerooms and showers if possible.

Premiers will discuss changes to border restrictions and large-scale events in national cabinet hook-ups in the coming days. Mr Gutwein is expected to announce a timetable tomorrow.

Mr Gutwein said stage three was a good sign — but urged people not to be complacent as new cases were inevitable in Tasmania: “I think we are in a good place,” he said. “It’s been 39 days without an active case and we have now completed more than 45,500 tests.

“Around the world, COVID-19 continues to carve what can only be described as a debilitating path, it’s devastating. More than nine million people now have had the disease, and unfortunately nearly half a million deaths have occurred. This is a deadly, insidious, highly contagious disease and we need to be mindful about that.”

Labor leader Rebecca White welcomed the announcement, which she described as “a step in the right direction”.

“This decision by the Premier to move to one person per two square meters will make a huge difference for those smaller venues in particular, enabling them to have more people come into their restaurants and cafes, help them to employ more people and will certainly help with Tasmania’s recovery,” she said.

REOPENING FROM FROM NOON TOMORROW

▪ Indoor amusement parks, play centres, arcades

▪ Saunas, spa baths, flotation tanks and bath houses

▪ Garage sales, car boot sales, second-hand goods sales

▪ Strip clubs

▪ Casinos and gaming venues

▪ Indoor zoos (in addition to predominantly outdoor zoos)

▪ Stadiums Markets and food vans at markets

▪ Provision of services to a person by a sex worker, within the meaning of the Sex Industry Offences Act 2005

▪ Food courts (includes dine-in)

▪ Nightclubs