A dance teacher in regional South Australia is pleading with the State Government to scrap social distancing requirements for indoor dance classes, saying they are out of step with other regulations.
The Government has announced that from Friday dance and fitness classes can go ahead with up to 20 people, if the density requirement of one person per seven square metres is followed.
Riverland dance studio owner Rachel McLeod said the ruling did not make sense, as most students were children and other sports did not have the same requirements.
"Children are in school together without social distancing and we can social distance within the studio. In fact, we don't dance right next to each other anyway," she said.
"Victoria and New South Wales, who have active cases of COVID still, have got an unlimited number of students allowed in all dance classes, as long as they're under the age of 18. Predominately, that's the age we are teaching.
"We feel we can do it in a safe way. But of course we take coronavirus very serious and we would be devastated if it came into the studio."
Thousands back lobbying efforts
Ms McLeod's sister Lisa Stevens has created a petition, which has received more than 6,500 signatures in just under a week.
She said this support demonstrated the need for the Premier Steven Marshall and the State Government to listen.
"Fitness Australia, who is the peak body for fitness classes, is lobbying for the seven square metre rule but a lot of their venues are very huge," Ms McLeod said.
"They can afford that seven square metres, but dance studios are set up a little bit different.
"That's why we really feel like we've been really forgotten in this conversation."
Not favouring 'one sport over another'
Minister for Sport and Recreation Corey Wingard said the state's health authorities have had 'quite a few' specific concerns about the indoor dance and fitness classes, but the State Government was working to ease restrictions further.
He refuted suggestions that any sport was being favoured and said health advice was dictating restriction changes.
"We're taking the advice of Health [Department], so Health aren't looking at this to favour one sport over another sport, or one activity over another activity," Mr Wingard said.
Mr Wingard accepted the requirements were different to those in the eastern states and this was something that he was putting to the transition committee.
"They are working their way through that and that may or may not be a pivot point for them to move on," he said.
"Hopefully in the next little while we can get some restrictions eased but the process has worked very well for South Australia and has kept us in a very safe position.
"When you stack South Australia up against Victoria or New South Wales, I think everyone knows where they would rather be."
