Supermarket giant Woolworths has announced it be closing most of their stores after shelves have been stripped bare by panic shoppers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
All stores, with the exception of Brisbane Airport, Town Hall and QV Melbourne, will shut nationally at 8pm on Wednesday and reopen at 7am Thursday to allow staff to replenish stocks.
Woolworths have also announced they are introducing temporary measures across its stores to help support the shopping needs of the elderly and people with disability in the community.
From Tuesday 17 March until at least Friday, Woolworths Supermarkets will be opening exclusively for the elderly and those with a disability to shop from 7am to 8am.
The move has been prompted by the unprecedented demand in supermarkets over the past week, which has seen many elderly and vulnerable people in the community missing out on vital items they may need when they shop.
Woolworths Supermarkets will open to all customers from 8am for the elderly and people with a disability. Access to the store prior to this time will require a relevant Government issued concession card.
The revised opening hours are in place at this stage until this Friday 20 March, with Woolworths to review opening arrangements at that point.
“While we’ll continue to do our very best to restock our stores during this period of unprecedented demand, we know many of our elderly customers have been missing out on essential items when they shop,” Woolworths Supermarkets managing director Claire Peters said.
“We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the revised opening hours.”
Woolworths announce some stores may be excluded from the new hours – with full terms and conditions available on thewoolworths.com.au website later today (Monday 16 March).
