Restrictions in regional NSW include no singing by patrons in indoor venues, no dancing (except at weddings by the bridal party), the reintroduction of one person per four square metres, and masks are mandatory in indoor settings.

With the restrictions coming in at the start of school holidays, the lockdown of Greater Sydney residents - and potential regional holiday-makers - could not have come at a worse time for local business owners.

"We've postponed all of our live gigs until July 9," Old Bank Restaurant licensee Ryan Mackintosh said. "I spoke to the Australian Hoteliers Association this morning for some clarification and they confirmed there's to be no singing or dancing indoors.

"We've gone back to the four square meter rule, we could lose some patronage through that. We have some bigger functions booked for later in the week - there's a group of 30 booked for Friday, which we will accommodate but they'll have to be spread out and it won't be as intimate as it would have been."

READ ALSO:

The Amaroo Hotel has also cancelled its live gigs and closed its nightclub for the two-week period to July 9. "We've been hit pretty hard, to be honest," manager Luke Baker said. "We were getting back on track and then this came out of the blue. There's no cases here, so I don't really understand why they're doing it, but those are the rules.

"We're enforcing the four square meter rule and face masks are to be worn indoors if you're not drinking."

One thing both venues have in common, is that business has been remarkably good in recent weeks. Now, since JobKeeper came to an end, there's concern about a lack of available financial aid during sudden lockdown announcements.

"We just have to be constantly vigilant, which is emotionally taxing," Mr Mackintosh said. "We want to try new things, including a new menu, but with these knee-jerk reactions, we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. JobKeeper is gone and I haven't heard of any other financial aid. I know of so many businesses which are just treading water."

Popular cafe, Press has also seen some impact from the first weekday of school holidays. Usually busy with the before-work-morning rush, manager Danny Okazima said the weekend and Monday morning were eerily quiet.

"Since the first lockdown, we re-organised our floor plan and began working within a COVID-safe plan and we never stopped working within that plan," Mr Okizama said. "But day one of school holidays, and it's been extremely quiet."

The Establishment Bar Dubbo announced via its Instagram page that it's "hitting pause on Mondays until the lockdown lifts", instead "throwing our time and energy into the weekends". The Establishment cancelled a live music session at the weekend after the sudden restrictions announcement, but kept its doors open for drinks.

Mr Mackintosh said the best case-scenario would be the earlier easing of restrictions in regional NSW.

"If everyone does the right thing and there are no cases, maybe things will ease in regional areas early. We'll just see what this week brings," he said.

Anyone in Dubbo who has been to Greater Sydney on or after Monday, June 21 must stay at home for 14 days, and get tested if they display any symptoms.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: