ACT businesses across several industries are preparing to reopen their doors come Friday 15 October when the ACT’s lockdown officially ends.

Gyms, hairdressers and hospitality venues head up a list of sectors that will be allowed to trade again, all operating under density limits and capacity restrictions.

Gyms will reopen with a maximum capacity of 25 people or density of one per four square metres, with group classes remaining off limits until 29 October.

ACT hairdressers and personal care service businesses can reopen with up to five clients at a time.

Licensed venues will be permitted to have 25 patrons at the venue or one per four square metres, whichever is the lesser, for seated service. For venues with outdoor areas, 50 patrons can utilise these spaces only or one per four square metres, whichever is lesser.

Essential retail, which includes hardware, building services, agricultural and rural supplies, pet stores and office supplies, can have two people from same household in a store at a time by booked appointment.

While non-essential retail will predominantly operate under click-and-collect or click-and-deliver services until 29 October, retail stores can have up to two people from the same household at any one time for booked appointments only.

Gym hoping to be ‘back to full trading’ by Christmas

Director of Manuka gym Fitness Grand, Ben Mayes, told Canberra Daily he’s doing a deep clean of the facilities and some digital work on their membership database to prepare ahead of Friday’s reopening.

He said there’s a mix of members keen to pump some iron while others remain reluctant to re-enter the gym just yet.

“We’ve had numerous cancellations and we’ll be going back to a little bit less of our standard income, but I think once people get past that initial trepidation about Covid, we’ll get back to fully trading by Christmas time,” he said.

As a 24-hour gym, their electronic door system will help them keep to their maximum of 25 patrons at a time until 29 October when they can have up to 100 people under the one per four square metre rule.

Mr Mayes said that jump will allow them to triple their numbers up to “around the 60-70 mark”, but the 25-patron limit won’t be too bad for them in the interim.

“We’re combatting that partly through our electronic system and also running outdoor classes, the bootcamp that will allow us to reduce our numbers [indoors] as well at any given time,” he said.

“It means there’s not a surge of people coming in at once for a class which would make us go over that limit.”

When restrictions eased to allow one-on-one outdoor training on 1 October, Mr Mayes and his team “immediately commenced”.

While it was definitely a positive for his business, he said the changes were all announced “very quickly” with no heads up.

“Although we had a fair bit of time on the bench in complete closure, we suddenly had to jump into action and get people outdoors and so on, which always presents a challenge when you’re quickly turning from nothing to something.”

Hospitality capacity limits ‘biggest burden on becoming profitable’

On the hospitality front, AHA ACT general manager Anthony Brierley said the businesses in the sector will be hamstrung when they reopen by the restrictions on capacity numbers, citing it the “biggest burden on businesses trying to become profitable again”.

“By its own admission, the ACT Government is well aware that the four square metre rule is unviable for hospitality businesses,” he said. “The hospitality industry is confused about why, when the ACT will have such strong defence against the virus, their businesses can’t trade meaningfully until December.”

Braddon United Retailers and Traders spokesperson Kel Watt told Canberra Daily the uniform capacity limits for hospitality venues “need to be reconsidered” as it will see big pubs opening under the same restrictions as smaller cafes.

“If a large pub operates just inside with 25 then it’s such a massive floor space and the overheads, whether they’ve got 25 or 425 patrons the electricity bill is going to be the same,” he said.

“A lot of smaller places, like a small local coffee shop, if they’ve only or three or four of five people they can have in there legally, it’s just not worth it,” he said.

“You can’t even cover the cost of one’s staff’s wages with such a small clientele.”

Mr Watt said overall there is a sense of relief among precinct traders, with an underlying sense of frustration about the level of restrictions that will remain in effect.

“We want the government to continue on with a fairly ambitious opening up program, but recognise it has to be done safely,” he said.

Mr Watt also noted the restrictions on retail requiring up to two customers to book in to visit a store just isn’t practical along Lonsdale Street, where many businesses rely and thrive on foot traffic.

“If you’ve got to make an appointment and I can’t just walk in … that’s an opportunity cost.

“These small businesses have to put in a whole new layer of bureaucracy and support that they were never geared up for and is such a cost or burden they will choose to stay closed,” he said.

Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.