The lockdown, announced on Saturday August 21 for regional Victoria, is the seventh time regional Victorians have been in lockdown since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Cinema Centre Horsham manager Kerry Bolwell said while the cinema was remaining afloat,

"It's difficult with consistent lockdowns. It does mean that when we're out of lockdown, our customer numbers are still lower than what they normally are," she said.

The pressure lockdowns put on businesses means less hours across the board, Ms Bolwell said.

"It does mean I have to cut back on a lot of hours, especially with our juniors," she said.

"They haven't been getting hours since the school holidays. Some of them have asked me, 'do we still have a job?' but it's the case that they probably won't be able to get work until the next school holidays, or even the Christmas holidays."

READ MORE:

Ms Bolwell said the workers at the cinema are keeping busy as best they can, tackling the behind the scenes

Despite the uncertainty morale is holding steady, Ms Bolwell said.

"We're not dooming and glooming....we're doing a lot on the admin side of things, I'm rewriting manuals that haven't been updated in a while," she said.

"There's plenty to do from the admin and managerial side, it's just a bit odd when (the cinema) is empty."

Having plans on what to do as lockdowns continue to rattle the economy is essential, according to Business Horsham's Stacey Taig.

"For businesses that are really struggling, it's another kick," she said.

"It's really hard to come back from, because if they're not out of one lockdown before they're getting put into another."

However, Ms Taig said businesses need to be adaptable.

MORE NEWS:

"Businesses need to be adaptable in the best of times. This is one of the those situations on steroids," she said.

"We need to start planning towards a new COVID norm. This is how it's going to be for the long term."

"We've got an ongoing issue with attrition and keeping staff. The more lockdowns we have, the greater impact there's going to be. Not only does it impact business owners, but there's certainly a flow on effect to staff.

"We have businesses that are starting to be more conservative and cutting back on staff, or cutting back on hours across the board. There are issues that are really starting to come to the fore.... especially without the support we had last year. It was substantial, but it's stopped. Without JobKeeper it's a little different this year."

Ms Taig said Business Horsham is working with its members to help transition through the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On top previously announced pandemic payments, Victorian government has revealed plans to help struggling businesses with rent payments.

Minister for Small Business and Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said the government understood businesses were struggling under lockdown.

"We know businesses are doing it tough - that's why it's important that we continue to back them with practical measures, including rent relief," she said.

"We want everyone to get a fair outcome - the Victorian Small Business Commission will provide free support to businesses to help them negotiate an agreement with landlords, if they're unable to reach agreement themselves."

OTHER NEWS:

The program, as part of the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme, would help small and medium sized businesses that have experienced a loss of over 30 per cent during the pandemic.

Businesses will get financial relief in the form of a proportionate reduction in rent and any business which has opened since April 2019 is eligible for the rent assistance.

As part of the scheme, the Victorian Small Business Commission will support tenants and landlords with information to negotiate an agreement and free mediation for those who need assistance.

The Scheme will apply retrospectively from 28 July 2021 and will run until 15 January 2022.

Landlords can also apply for tax relief of up to 25 per cent, in addition to any previous relief, with the support worth up to $100 million.

Small landlords who can demonstrate acute hardship will be eligible to apply for payments as part of a $20 million hardship fund.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: