After crunching the numbers, Rifle Brigade Hotel manager Leanne Scholtz said opening just wasn't a viable option with such low density numbers.

"Before lockdowns, we could hold more than 300 people inside and out," she said.

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"But with this latest easing, we can only have about 30 across all our areas, it's just not possible to keep a business running like that.

"From a financial point of view, it's just not viable. And with the weather the way that it is at the moment, it's a big hit and miss for us too."

Ms Scholtz said the decision to remain closed was not made lightly.

"We didn't just decide straight away, we took a lot of time and took a lot of aspects into consideration," she said.

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"We wanted to give our staff as much stability as possible. It's not fair on them to be left wondering who is working when and with the rules in place we need to have more staff on to maintain COVID-safe protocols.

"We tried to work out how many bookings we could have in one day, but for us it's important for our customers to enjoy their experience with us and not just be kicked out so we make more money."

Ms Scholtz said she was understanding of the decisions being made, but hoped the regions would open up more soon.

"Without trying to sound rude, I thought the opening would be a bit more realistic if I'm honest," she said.

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"We are doing everything we've been asked to do and doing everything by the books, but we're still restricted.

"I completely understand and appreciate that the government is doing what they can to keep everyone safe, we totally get that, but it's still hard."

She said if density limits were increased, the business may be able to open.

"Even if we had 50 patrons indoors, we might be able to get away with it," Ms Scholtz said.

"We and a lot of other businesses are hoping there will be changes soon."

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