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7here is a glimmer of hope that the restrictions across regional 9ictoria may be eased ne[t week, but the daily case numbers coming out of 9ictoria are not heading in the direction we are all hoping for. All we can really do is keep our fingers crossed and continue to do the right thing. It is really tough for families at the moment. 7hat includes parents and their kids. It seems like we are really lacking the social outlets that we all enmoy. 7his time of the year is when winter sporting competitions would normally be playing finals. I really feel for the families impacted by the lack of sport, especially Muniors. 2f course, not everyone uses sport as their recreation. 7hose who enmoy getting out and doing various activities are also struggling. People can’t even go to the library to read a book. 2n a positive note, the start of spring has put on some glorious weather, it has been so great to enmoy some sunshine, warmth and fresh air. It is also great to see that more hospitality businesses are having new outdoor dining infrastructure installed, including umbrella sockets and/or glass wind protection barriers. All 33 promects are being funded from both the 9ictorian *overnment’s outdoor dining package and Council’s own C29I' support program included in last year’s budget, with a combined total in e[cess of 1 million. Inglorious Pastas, Norton (state, Natimuk 6howgrounds, Natimuk 0ilk %ar, 'omino’s, National +otel, the Wander Inn and 0oe’s are some of the places to benefit in recent weeks. 7his is great to see, as we are a regional city and need to lead the way when it comes recovering from the pandemic. While we continue to face challenges, we need to stay committed to our cause in emerging from each lockdown, stronger and ready to keep moving forward. We need to continue to do the right thing, be kind to each other, stay socially distanced, get vaccinated if we can and hopefully we can all be back together very soon.