The desperation of individual businesses to find a way to remain open has collided with a lack of clarity from the state government to create a mess.

But small businesses without these resources have been left fighting desperate rearguard actions to avoid closure.
Theres no doubt part of this mayhem has been caused by the natural inclination of business owners and managers to try to find loopholes in the list of stage four business restrictions published on Monday.
Its amazing how much grey can be found in a black and white document and theres plenty of grey to be found.
Take, for instance, this catch-all covering any ancillary business (including IT) involved in the production, supply, manufacture, repair, maintenance, cleaning, security, wholesale, distribution, transportation or sale of equipment, goods or services necessary for the operations of a permitted work site or for closed work sites where there are safety or environmental obligations.
Its a loophole that potentially thousands of businesses from all sorts of sectors will try and squeeze through in the coming days.
The restrictions have also thrown up huge numbers of practical challenges.
Its amazing how much grey can be found in a black and white document.
The construction sector, for example, is still trying to determine whether subcontractors can work across multiple sites.
Manufacturing sectors facing shutdown are appealing for a reprieve, citing the work they do for essential service providers. Retailers are still hunting for clarity on exactly what contactless delivery methods look like.
So with Wednesday nights deadline approaching, industry groups were forced to provide members with advice which they can only hope is right.
One of those is the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, which has been seeking the detail it needs to inform automotive repair shops, motor vehicle dealers, panel beaters and other businesses about what they can and cant do.
Weve struggled to get that. And in the absence of that weve provided our own interpretation as best we could, says VACC chief executive Geoff Gwilym.
Hes fully supportive of the need to tackle the health crisis, and particularly sympathetic with the incredibly difficult task faced by the government in responding to business queries. In their defence, theyre drowning in issues, he says.
But he also doesnt want to see a repeat of instances in recent months where police have turned up at automotive workshops demanding they be shut.
The fact that occurred when stage three restrictions were in place underscores the difficulties that will exist in enforcing the opaque stage four rules.
While motor vehicle dealers will be forced to shut their showrooms, their service departments can remain open. And any work to do with vehicle safety which could justifiably include everything from panel beating to servicing is allowed.
The police need to take care that they fully understand the flexibility in the lockdown stages, Gwilym says.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Wednesday there would be no grace period for businesses and workers the lockdown cannot wait.
But this is a mess that seems unlikely to be sorted out this week.