It wasn't a decision taken lightly, but Club Mudgee has changed their entry rules as a result of the second outbreak of COVID-19, asking visitors from NSW Health identified hot spots not to attend.
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These include Victoria, Sydney and the Greater Sydney Region including the Blue Mountains.
It's anticipated that these temporary measures will be in place for approximately four to six weeks, with the Club monitoring the situation as it unfolds and to make further changes as they believe are necessary.
Club Mudgee CEO, Maureen Hutchison, said, it was a "very difficult decision" and not one intended to cause offence or upset anyone. But one made because "we feel we have a responsibility to protect our staff and members, and the local community through these uncertain times".
"Our message is very simple, we want to provide a safe venue free from COVID-19 to ensure the ongoing safety and mental health wellbeing of our staff, members and local community and to ensure the club remains viable for the longer term," she said.
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"The last shutdown that we went through closed us down for almost three months, we don't want to be shutdown again, we are not willing to take that risk.
"During the shutdown our staff checked-in with many members by phone and it was heartbreaking to hear their stories of isolation and loneliness.
"We've earned ourselves a local reputation as being a safe and clean venue, we have a very strict cleaning regime in the way we present our club every day and we know we do this well because our patrons are telling us they feel safe in our venue.
"We are simply taking a proactive approach to minimise the risk to our staff, members and our local community. We currently employ 50 local staff, and approximately 75 per cent of our 6,500 members reside in the Mid-Western Region - these statistics alone support our decision to implement the change we have made."
This week also saw the Bathurst RSL Club and Orange Ex-Services' Club also take such measures.
