by Michaela Meade
Woolworths supermarkets have reinstated purchase limits on a range of products deemed as essential in Victoria as it enters stage four lockdown.
The company said the decision is “precautionary”, and will ensure customers have “fair access”.
Woolworths Victoria Assistant State Manager John Di Tirro said the company understands Victorians being anxious but that stores will remain open as an essential service.
“We have plenty of stock to draw on from our suppliers and distribution centres and our team will be hard at work making sure it flows into our stores in large volumes over the coming days,” Mr Di Tirro said.
“We encourage Victorian to be mindful of others in the community and to continue shopping as they usually would.”
Coles supermarkets has also implemented purchase limits and additional safety measures in Victorian stores as people react to the five-day lockdown that will restrict them to leaving the house only for necessities.
Coles Chief Operations Officer Matt Swindells said team member numbers in stores and the capacity of Coles Online have increased to help serve customers.
“We thank our amazing teams who are working tremendously hard and we appreciate our customers for their patience and for treating our team members with respect as we work through this challenging time together,” Mr Swindells.
Meanwhile, IGA Altona owner Hitesh Palta said he had already noticed more customers through the door since the lockdown announcement at 1pm.
He said he has two extra delivery drivers on standby for online orders.
Woolworths and Coles supermarkets are limiting the number of staple items people can purchase. These include toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, flour, milk, longlife milk, eggs, sugar and rice. Full lists of limits are available on their respective websites.
Premier Daniel Andrews today described the five-day lockdown as a “short, sharp circuit breaker” against a “hyper-infectious” outbreak of the UK strain.
For details on the lockdown, sunburymacedonranges.starweekly.com.au/news/victoria-to-re-enter-stage-four-lockdown/.
