On Thursday it was announced that as of 12.01am, Friday morning, non-essential businesses such as pubs and hairdressers would be allowed to reopen as the city has now gone nearly two weeks without a locally-acquired COVID case being infectious in the community.

Darren Sinclair from Waratah Sports Club said customers have been quick to call and make bookings.

"The phone has been running hot and they're all pretty eager. Everybody is really happy that we're reopening," he said.

"Obviously we've been in lockdown and we've been trying to get staff organised over the last couple of days when we heard that the lockdown might be finishing. So we've slowly tried to get employees on board and we'll be open Friday for normal trading."

Over at the Hotel Orange, Vijay Bohra was all but certain they would be open to trade on Friday.

"Exiting lockdown is really good and we're really excited," he said.

"It comes with lots of compliances. We need to be more careful and vigilant. But the rules are almost the same as what we had before this lockdown, so we'll be operating the same way as we were before.

"At the moment the dancefloor is not allowed which is quite normal and everyone understands."

There are some concerns however, with it previously being stated that a single case could send Orange back into lockdown.

"The hard thing is opening and closing," Mr Bohra added.

"So if something is open today and then tomorrow we get a positive case and we get locked down again, that will be a hard thing to manage for the businesses. That sort of stuff is something to be mindful of."

Craig Wright of the Victoria Hotel said he felt "absolute joy" when he heard the announcement.

"It's not just joy, it's the interaction that people need to go out and do. They're sick and tired of being locked down. We're due for a bit of good news" he said.

"The strangest thing is I can open the doors now and you don't have to be fully vaxxed, but by the time they reach the 70 per cent you have to be."

Orange will still have some restrictions to ensure community safety. For more information, please visit: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

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