Sydney shopping centres EMPTY out as Covid worries grip city

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Sydney’s malls and shopping centres have become ghost towns on Monday amid a coronavirus outbreak in the city’s north, after being packed to the brim with festive customers out doing their Christmas shopping just a few days ago. 

Retailers had been looking forward to seeing a surge in sales over the Christmas holidays and were hoping to make up some of their losses after a difficult year dealing with travel and lockdown restrictions. 

On Monday, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced 15 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases associated with a cluster in the Northern Beaches which has reached 83 cases. 

Australians are expected to spend $52billion this Christmas, but where that money is spent is an all important factor – whether that be online or in domestic brick-and-mortar stores could mean the next few weeks are make or break for many businesses. 

‘There have been winners and losers. If you are in household goods, people are staying at home so sales are up. Clothing, footwear and these areas are doing it tough because people have no need to get dressed up, they have nowhere go to,’ Paul Zahra, CEO Australian Retailers Association, told the ABC. 

‘According to all surveys consumer confidence is definitely up I think people are looking at the rest of the world and feeling confident about the situation in Australia.’ 

Mr Zahra added that the renewed COVID-19 outbreak on the Northern Beaches had business owners, especially in Sydney, watching the situation closely.  

‘Yes, we have a close watch on what is happening in those locations, all retailers have strengthened their COVID safety plans to make sure they have increased staffing, security to manage crowds, to make sure the people are shopping in a very COVID safe way, and the mask wearing in those locations becomes very important.’ 

‘It is a little early to say, but shoppers in those areas particularly are quite nervous, and they have been much more purposeful in their shopping, going in with a list getting what they need and going home, wearing a mask.’ 

He also said both Melbourne and Sydney CBDs have seen a dramatic drop in revenue over 2020 – which many business owners had just seen start to recover.  

‘City locations around those two states rely on people working in the CBD and on international tourists, but with those borders being down that has impacted those states significantly. The other states do not see the international tourist that Sydney and Melbourne see. And we have the added issue of the extended lockdown.’

Mr Zahra said the pandemic has increased the trend of people going online to shop – which has surged to 10 per cent of retail sales and is fast approaching 20 per cent. 

He said people should feel comfortable shopping anyway they chose but should try to support local business and local jobs wherever possible. 

Residents of NSW now face restrictions entering every other state and territory after the cluster centred on Avalon reached at least 68 community-based infections.

People planning to travel to NSW to visit friends and family for Christmas have had their plans dashed, with restrictions on Sydneysiders entering every state.

Health authorities say the next 48 hours will be critical after the NSW government locked down the northern beaches until midnight on Wednesday and resurrected a small set of restrictions for Greater Sydney to contain the spread.

Former federal health department secretary and chair of the global Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Jane Halton says NSW made the right choice to ‘go hard, go early, go household’.

But it could get worse before it gets better.

‘If they discover it leaked into other places I have no doubt they will apply further restrictions and that is what they should do,’ Ms Halton told Nine’s Today program on Monday.

‘This is why they are asking people to be cautious to not go out, to limit the number of people and gatherings.’

The virus count prompted Western Australia to reimpose a hard border with NSW on Saturday.

People travelling from greater Sydney and the Central Coast will not be able to enter other states from Monday.

If they do, they will have to undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine in most states, or quarantine at home in South Australia and the ACT.

Only those from Greater Sydney will have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival in Tasmania.

Greater Sydney stretches from the Hawkesbury, Hornsby and the northern beaches regions in the north, to the Blue Mountains in the west, and the Wollondilly, Campbelltown and Sutherland regions in the south.

Travellers from the Wollongong local government area also cannot enter South Australia, while the Northern Territory, ACT, and Queensland have barred the entire Illawarra/Shoalhaven region.

There is a 24-hour grace period for Queensland and Victorian residents returning home, with authorities allowing them to quarantine inside their own houses.

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People walk through the Sydney CBD on Monday as the State Theatre displays a Christmas greeting (pictured)

Acting National Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly on Sunday defended the way states and territories responded in restricting interstate travel.

‘It’s unfortunate that this is happening but we need to put safety and health concerns at the forefront,’ he said.

‘Those on the northern beaches of Sydney, my heart goes out to you. This is a tricky time in the lead-up to Christmas but please stay the course.’

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the situation would be ‘incredibly upsetting and frustrating’ for those who planned to travel interstate.

‘At the same time, these precautions are going to be necessary to avoid something worse. So we’re just going to have to push through … 2020 isn’t done with us yet,’ Mr Morrison told Triple M Radio on Monday.

‘Signs are looking a little better, but let’s see what the next few days bring.’ 

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A pair of shoppers wearing masks on Monday (pictured) in the Sydney CBD amid a coronavirus cluster being closely watched on the Northern Beaches

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The Sydney CBD on Thursday was awash with happy shoppers looking forward to the Christmas season (pictured)


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