South East Queensland, Townsville, Palm Island, and Magnetic Island will enter a three-day lockdown from 6pm tonight (Tuesday, 29 June).
According to National Retail Association (NRA) CEO Dominique Lamb, this latest lockdown will see affected retailers slugged a combined $300 million in lost sales.
“Retailers understand the importance of public safety but make no mistake this lockdown is going to have a damaging economic effect,” she says.
“The NRA forecasts that this lockdown will cost affected retailers an eye-watering $300 million in combined lost sales.”
Ms Lamb says that both the state and federal governments need to urgently consider assistance measures to affected retail businesses.
“Retailers impacted by this lockdown will be doing so without the JobKeeper safety net,” she says.
“If we’re to cushion the economic blow of this round of restrictions then both the state and federal governments need to provide urgent assistance measures.
“This lockdown also comes in the final days of end-of-financial-year sales and school holidays. Rather than seeing consumers stampede into stores to cash in on bargain sales, shopping precincts in lockdown areas will resemble ghost towns.”
The NRA is also urging consumers to only purchase what they need and to treat workers at essential businesses such as supermarkets and grocery stores with the utmost respect.
“We urge Queenslanders to only purchase what they need, they will still be able to shop for essential items such as fresh food, groceries and toilet paper,” says Ms Lamb.
“Consumers also need to be patient with staff working at supermarkets and grocery stores. These employees are operating in a very demanding and stressful environment and customer abuse is absolutely not on.
“Finally, we urge all retailers operating across non-affected parts of Queensland to continue enforcing the highest possible safety measures and for eligible people to book an appointment to receive the Covid vaccine.”
