The owners of a restaurant at the centre of Orange's COVID alert say they and their staff are being questioned by people in public asking why they were not self-isolating.
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Birdie Noshery and Drinking Est owners Leah Morphett and Simonn Hawke have called for more community understanding.
Ms Morphett said only 14 staff, who were at the Summer Street eatery on January 3 when a Sydney man who has tested positive to the coronavirus dined there, needed to self-isolate.
People need to understand that all our staff who need to be self-isolating are [isolating]
- Leah Morphett, co-owner Birdie
She said the other 10 staff and themselves were not present and were not close contacts.
"It is pretty confronting," she said.
"People need to understand that all our staff who need to be self-isolating are [isolating].
"We want to make sure everyone is on the same page."
Ms Hawke said they were 'quite recognisable' in the community and were being asked about self-isolating.
"We feel singled out," she said.
She said they were wearing masks when they went shopping even though it was not compulsory in Orange.
Ms Hawke said all of the staff had tested negative.
They will be re-tested before the end of the 14-day isolation period.
The business has been closed since the alert was issued last Tuesday.
They said they had lost income as there was no business insurance or government payment to cover the shutdown.
However, they said staff could apply for the federal government's Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, a one-off $1500 payment to help workers forced to isolate get through the 14 days when they did not have income.
It applies to people 17 and over who do not have any leave owing or receive any other payments during the isolation period.
They said they had texted the forms to all employees and expected those who were eligible would seek it.
Ms Morphett said they had not had any staff resign over the situation.
She said she had contacted younger staff members to ask them if they wanted to leave if they were concerned about the situation.
Ms Morphett said they had advertised job vacancies before the incident and were receiving applications after it.
She said while they were cleared to re-open as the premises had undergone a deep clean they didn't have enough available staff.
"We need our team back," she said.
"Most of the kitchen are in isolation."
They will have to wait until sufficient staff are cleared to leave self-isolation and resume work.
They have instead concentrated on running their other restaurant, Lolli Redini.
The 18-year-old man who sparked the COVID alert was returning to Sydney from a camping trip with friends when they attended Birdie.
He has been identified as being part of the Berala-cluster linked to the Berala BWS bottle shop.
Three new COVID cases, including two linked to the Berala-cluster, were confirmed by Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Sunday.
COVID testing will be available at several venues in Orange on Monday.
That includes the re-opening respiratory clinic at the Bloomfield Medical Centre. Bookings are required.
Drive-through clinics, where bookings are not required, are open at the Orange Showground and Emus Rugby Club.
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