Pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafés in Sydney will shut down amid confusion over new stay-at-home COVID restrictions.

Restaurant and Catering Industry Association CEO Wes Lambert told Jim Wilson his industry has been left “confused, confused, and flabbergasted” by the sudden lockdown.

“Midday on a Friday a very difficult time to tell an entire industry – the hardest hit industry since the COVID pandemic started – that they couldn’t trade for seven days.

“It certainly was not foreshadowed.”

The decision will cost hospitality businesses $200 million in sales and tens of millions in lost produce, he said.

Press PLAY below to hear his reaction in full

NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres admitted the lockdown is “nothing short of a devastating blow” for tourism and entertainment in the city too.

“This is … about making sure we protect the rest of the state – we don’t want to have to lock down all of Greater Sydney … [or] NSW.

“We’ll do absolutely everything in our power to avoid that.”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty