Victoria's hospitality industry is bracing for another tough period as COVID cases creep up again in the state.
Alpine Health has extended its COVID testing hours after confirming an uptick in demand for tests, particularly in Bright and Myrtleford.
Bright Brewery marketing manager Laura Gray said a "massive outbreak" in January shut down the "entire town", including its hospitality sector.
"Now it appears that there's another wave coming through," she said.
"We lost six staff in one day to COVID [last week], either to the virus or to close contact rules."
Ms Gray said the brewery had to pull out of a number of events over the past two weeks and was forced to shut down half its outdoor area on the weekend because of staff shortages.
"Any time we have to shut part of the venue or cancel an event or anything like that it's a huge hit to our bottom line," she said.
Ms Gray believes the hospitality industry should be added to the list of industries that have isolation exemptions.
Workers in emergency services, education, critical utilities, custodial facilities and all transport and freight sectors are eligible for exemption from the requirement to isolate when identified as close contacts of a COVID-19 case, "if it is necessary for continuity of operations and if other options have been exhausted".
The employee must return a negative rapid antigen test before work for five days and wear a mask while working.
Ms Gray believes her industry is well-equipped to take on the exemptions safely.
"We're very good at managing work health and safety and COVID precautions — we've been doing it for two years now," she said.
"Cleaning and sanitising and hygiene in a food environment is paramount anyway, so I think hospitality workers definitely deserve to be part of that exemption, and that would certainly help."
Peak in April
Health Minister Martin Foley said on the weekend that new modelling showed COVID-19 cases would likely peak later in April, when "several hundred" more people could be hospitalised per day.
He said the latest advice national cabinet's Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) made it clear that now was not the time to be changing restrictions.
In the face of an impending winter flu season, increasing COVID-19 case numbers and the emergence of the "more transmissible" Omicron BA.2 variant, the AHPPC said the seven-day quarantine period should stay in place.
"Making changes – including changes to quarantine settings – that will result in increased transmission in the community at a time when cases are already increasing or are at their peak may result in further disruption to the health system," the report said.
"The resulting escalation in case numbers is likely to increase, rather than decrease, any disruptions to broader societal functioning."
The report added that many countries that had relaxed quarantine and isolation arrangements were now experiencing significant disruptions.
Mr Foley said the health advice would be followed to ensure Victorians stayed safe during this wave.
"The advice is pretty clear — over the next couple of weeks we'll see this peak, then it will come down and we will respond accordingly," he said.
In the meantime, Bright Brewery is just trying to make the best of the situation.
"We're glad to be open, we're glad to be operating," Ms Gray said.
"But the challenges that the COVID situation has created are certainly not over.
"Sometimes I think people like to think that they are, but businesses are still dealing with the ramifications of it every single day."
