Lord mayor Sally Capp outside Melbourne Town Hall during last year’s stage four restrictions.Credit:Arsineh Houspian
“After more than a year of lockdowns there is still no ‘freedom day’ on our horizon,which means there is no hope for our small business owners and workers,” she said.
“National cabinet must urgently agree on how many people need to be vaccinated before the lockdowns stop. This will provide certainty and confidence to business that there is an end date for the devastating lockdowns,state border closures and crippling uncertainty.”
Cr Capp said until that happened,the federal government should reinstate JobKeeper so small businesses in particular could survive until vaccination rates were high enough.
One in five retail premises in Melbourne’s CBD is now closed as the cumulative effect of lockdowns bites.
Britainmarked its so-called freedom day on Monday,abandoning almost all coronavirus restrictions and lifting social distancing requirements.
There,68.3 per cent of the adult population has received two doses of vaccines. Public health experts have warned eased restrictions could lead to another surge in case numbers,which climbed to more than 54,000 on Saturday.