Things To Do In Sydney During The Covid Pandemic
Which activities in Sydney easily allow you to follow covid-related health and safety precautions?
- A disease that spreads rapidly.
- Large congregations of people are sitting ducks for infection by the pathogen.
- There is widespread chaos across countries, with many people being forced to keep themselves indoors.
Had I laid out this scenario for you at the beginning of the year, you might have said “I get it. You’ve watched Contagion.”.
If you’re a diehard M. Night Shyamalan fan, you might have said “Are you talking about The Happening?”.
But, as it happens, based on the current state of the world, your reply would be…
Because of, you know, covid-19.
Which is why it’s important to figure out the most COVIDSafe things to do in Sydney during the pandemic, before planning your day out in Sydney.
Blog overview
First, we’ll decide whether it’s advisable at all to plan a day out in Sydney during the pandemic.
Second, we’ll see how to know what precautions to take on your Sydney day out.
After that, we’ll look at specific pandemic precautions, and how easy (and difficult) it is to enforce them at various things to do in Sydney.
Finally, we’ll see which Sydney activity may be the most COVIDSafe.
Things to do in Sydney during the covid-19 pandemic
So, does covid-19, ominous as it is, mean that Sydney nightlife is reduced to Pizza Night With Netflix and Chilled Beer, at home?
Nope, not by a long shot.
You can have your share of entertainment in Sydney, provided you maintain appropriate CARE’s.
Yep, I made up my own ‘bacronym’ just for this blog.
‘CARE’ stands for Covid Appropriate Restrictions (on) Entertainment.
So, what are these restrictions?
Precautions you should take to avoid being infected with covid-19
covid 19 virus
Well, we know that the coronavirus responsible for covid-19 spreads via respiratory droplets.
We could catch the damn virus if we:
- Breathe it in through respiratory droplets.
- Touch a surface (like a doorknob) bearing infected droplets, and then touch our face.
Fortunately, that sounds worse than it is.
A few precautions will make your night out in Sydney COVIDSafe.
Wearing masks
sydney covidsafe activities wear masks
If the problem is breathing in infected droplets, surely the most obvious precaution against it is to wear a mask?
It’s clumsy and a little inconvenient, but a basic precaution against the virus spreading.
Wearing masks on your day out in Sydney
In which kind of activities would wearing masks be less of a hindrance?
If you think about it:
- Where mask wearing is easy: Activities that don’t require a lot of physical effort, like a movie theatre, or a virtual reality escape room.
- Where mask wearing is difficult: Activities that
- Require physical activity, like gyms.
- Are directly made difficult by mask wearing, like eating out at a restaurant. How can you wear a mask while eating?
Physical distancing
sydney covidsafe activities physical distancing
Maintaining a distance of about 1.5 metres from other people is a good way of avoiding breathing in infected droplets.
It’s important to remember that this includes distancing yourself from the staff of the establishment you’re visiting.
Private activities
If the activity is private, meaning it’s just your group taking part, physical distancing shouldn’t be that big a problem.
Limited interaction between patrons and staff
I bet this is one factor you hadn’t considered while thinking about physical distancing.
To make your day out in Sydney COVIDSafe, you should maintain physical distancing between yourself, and the staff of the establishment you’re visiting too.
Physical distancing while you’re out and about in Sydney
Where can you easily maintain physical distancing…
…without having to resort to violence, that is? Gif courtesy GIPHY
If you think about it:
- Where physical distancing is easy: Activities that are
- private AND
- where you don’t need to interact extensively with the staff,
like a private VR escape room.
- Where physical distancing is difficult: Activities that
- can’t be made private, like visiting a mall or
- where you’ll need to interact with the staff, like a bar.
Limited group size
sydney covidsafe activities small group
Allowing in a limited number of people into an establishment will make it easier to maintain physical distancing between patrons.
Sydney activities that allow for limited group size
Well, most establishments can have a policy of allowing only a limited number of people inside.
However,
- Limited group size works best if: The establishment is catering to an individualized experience, like a restaurant, or a VR escape room.
- Limited group size may fail to work if: The establishment depends on mass footfall, like a mall.
Washing your hands
sydney covidsafe activities wash your hands
Soap and alcohol-based hand rubs can kill the virus, which makes frequent handwashing with soap and water, or with an alcohol-based rub a crucial health measure.
Handwashing on your Sydney day out
Almost any establishment can install handwash stations, and provide you with soap or an alcohol-based rub.
You should:
- Ask where the washroom is because soap and water is the better option.
- Ask whether the hand rub provided is alcohol-based because non-alcoholic handrubs are not effective against the covid-19 virus.
Disinfection between patrons
sydney covidsafe activities disinfection between patrons
Disinfecting the premises between each patron/group of patrons can reduce the chances of the virus spreading between groups.
Appointment and session-based activities
Disinfecting between sessions works best when the establishment hosts appointment-based or session-based activities.
If it’s not apparent why, think about it for a second.
- If patrons can enter an establishment in predefined time slots, disinfection sessions can be scheduled between consecutive slots, if necessary.
- If patrons enter at will, they can’t really schedule disinfection sessions between patrons, without shutting down.
Sydney activities where disinfection between patrons works best
Mind you, any establishment can shut down every few hours, and disinfect the premises. However, this can spoil the quality of the experience you have there.
So,
- Where disinfection between patrons is easy: Activities where patrons participate
- in time slots such as a gym, or
- by appointment such as a movie theatre, or a VR escape room.
- Where disinfection between patrons is difficult: Activities where patrons arrive as convenient, such as visiting a mall, or eating out at a restaurant.
Contactless payment
sydney covidsafe activities contactless payment
If contactless payment is the only option, you will NOT have to touch publicly exposed objects like money, or card machines.
Contactless payment on your night out in Sydney
Almost every establishment worth the name offers contactless payment options. But, how can you minimize the chances of having to reach for your wallet?
- Mandatory contactless payment is possible if: The entire activity can be prepaid for. This is possible if:
- The activity is subscription-based, like a gym.
- The activity needs to be booked in advance, like a VR escape room.
- Mandatory contactless payment is difficult if: When you need to pay on the spot, like visiting a mall, or eating out at a restaurant.
How COVIDSafe are the various things to do in Sydney?
Considering the various precautions you need to take to avoid getting infected, here’s how the various activities in Sydney compare.
sydney covidsafe things to do
VR escape rooms – the most COVIDSafe activity in Sydney?
covidsafe activity entermission escape room sydney
You may very well think that, being on the list of things to do in Sydney, we’re just giving ourselves a ‘home field advantage’ here.
But, if you think about it, a VR escape room is ideally suited to implement and enforce pandemic-related health and safety guidelines. One of the most COVIDsafe activities in Sydney is visiting a virtual reality escape room venue like Entermision.
This indoor, private team activity allows patrons to solve puzzles and challenges in a safe and supervised environment while adhering to COVID-safe guidelines such as wearing masks, physical distancing and limited group sizes. Additionally, Entermision has implemented contactless payment options and ensures disinfection between patrons to further reduce the risk of infection.
Private team activity
VR escape rooms are a team activity and a private event. This means you do not come into contact with strangers while you’re taking part in the VR escape game.
Limited interaction with staff
A VR escape room requires little direct interaction between staff and participants. We have taken further precautions in light of the pandemic to reduce such interactions even more than usual.
Prebooked sessions
As you need to book your sessions beforehand,
- The chances of meeting with other patrons is reduced.
- We can schedule clearing and disinfection between sessions.
- We can check temperature on arrival.
- Payments are made online, requiring zero involvement of cash or publicly used card machines.
Little physical effort and ample scope for hand washing
A VR escape game involves logical thinking, communication between team members, and use of VR equipment, which we clean after each use.
Little physical activity is required.
- Masks can be worn throughout the VR escape game.
- You can easily wash your hands.
- We have even made it possible for you to clean your VR equipment before using it, if you want.
As you can see, we tick all the boxes for being a COVIDSafe thing to do in Sydney.
If you ARE planning a day out in Sydney, hit us up!
Finally, we want everyone to feel safe during their experience at Entermission. If you have any further questions regarding health and safety, we’ll be more than happy to answer your concerns.
