Horsham businesses welcome opening of dancefloors, easing of masks

At 6pm on Friday, February 18, restrictions on indoor dancefloors and venue capacities were lifted, after closure by the state government in mid-January.

Royal Hotel publican Grant Fielder said the venue celebrated the eased restrictions with its first live performance in 2022 by Stawell metal outfit CROME.

"They played and everyone enjoyed being on the dance floor listening to them play," he said.

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"This was a live band gig, which was the first one of the year, and I think people really appreciated them playing on stage and being able to be on the dance floors.

"It was like old times, it was really good."

Friday, February 25, will see a further peeling back of restrictions, with the removal of masks in most indoor settings.

However, masks will still be required for public transport, hospitals, retail workers, schools and childhood centres.

Mr Feilder said he was pleased to see a lifting of mask mandates for hospitality patrons, as it was often hard to police when the venue was full.

Other changes include the resumption of elective surgery from Monday, February 28, and an extension of the third dose deadline for workers in education.

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Workers who were fully vaccinated on or before October 25 will have an extra month to receive the third dose, provided that they have a booking within that time - meaning all education workers have until March 25 to be 'up to date'.

Alongside the changes to restrictions, the Victorian government also announced a $200 million stimulus package targeting the hospitality and tourism sectors.

The package includes a $100 million expansion to the regional Victoria travel voucher scheme, a new $30 million state-wide Dining Vouchers scheme and a $30 million Entertainment Voucher scheme.

The programs, which are due to start on March 29, will reimburse the cost for Victorians spending money at restaurants and venues outside of Melbourne.

West Vic Business ambassador Stacy Taig said the group was pleased with previous rollouts of the voucher program and hoped the new expansion would drive more people out to the Wimmera.

"Shifting towards opening up fully, where things like this type of program encourage people to travel and visit our regional areas, rather than jump on the first place overseas," she said.

"We are more than happy with the results from the previous programs they have rolled out with the voucher system. Fingers crossed it continues to deliver this time. Certainly, it is welcome."

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