Pilbara hospitality industry breathes sigh of relief as mandates scrapped after two years of limited service

The Pilbara hospitality industry has breathed a sigh of relief as restrictive COVID-19 public health measures have been removed, giving the hard hit industry a welcome boost. Restrictions including proof-of-vaccination status, masks and venue capacity limits were lifted on April 29, allowing the hospitality industry to run at full capacity. North West Brewing Co. owner Daniel Scott said the venue had been under restrictions of some sort since March 2020. “We’d only opened three months before that, so pretty much the whole lifetime of this brewery being open we’ve only had three months of normal trade and then we’ve been in lockdown or some form of restrictions ever since then,” he said. Mr Scott said the hardest of the previous restrictions was the vaccine mandate. “The State vaccination numbers are higher than the numbers in the Pilbara,” he said. The Pilbara’s vaccination rates are the lowest in the State as of April 25 with just 63.4 per cent of the West Pilbara population having received one dose and 61.8 per cent having two jabs. Meanwhile, the East Pilbara sits at a first dose rate of 68.5 per cent with 66 per cent of the population having received two doses. Mr Scott said it was exciting to be able to welcome back customers who had been forced to stay away during the mandates. “Vaccine mandates had more of an impact on hospitality businesses in the north then it has in the south, so it’s very exciting to know that we can welcome one and all to come and enjoy the service and offerings we have,” he said. The impacts of vaccination mandates on the Pilbara industry were echoed by Stardeck Group owner Bart Parsons who in March said turnover across his three venues was down about 20 per cent. “If it’s prolonged people do start to go into receivership and lose their businesses. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said. Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said the end to restrictions was the best news that WA’s hotels and hospitality venues have had in over two years. “Since March 2020, hospitality venues have navigated a multitude of ever-changing public health measures, which has placed great challenges on the industry and the staff who have been responsible for implementing them,” he said.