Restaurants on footpaths: why Australia's indoor gatherings should be pushed outside in the Covid-19 era

Doctors and businesses are backing novel ideas such as opening up public spaces and car parks to small retailers

Allowing restaurants and cafes to spread their tables on to footpaths, and opening up public green spaces and car parks to small retailers are some of the suggestions epidemiologists and corporate leaders are making as indoor gatherings continue to pose the greatest coronavirus risk in the coming months.

Consideration of how businesses can continue to safely operate even as suburbs and cities experience outbreaks comes as leaders call for businesses based in high-risk settings, particularly indoor shops and restaurants, to be allowed to innovate their operations, which they hope will mean wide-scale lockdowns can be avoided while maintaining activity.