9 new COVID cases; bargain hunters swarm to CBD Boxing Day sales
NSW Health has put out a COVID alert on new venues like a cafe in North Sydney and a gym in Belrose as shoppers ignored health advice and flocked to Boxing Day sales around Sydney.
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NSW has recorded nine new coronavirus cases on Boxing Day, with eight linked to the northern beaches cluster.
One of the new cases in Saturday’s figures is a child who tested positive after the 8pm cut-off period but was announced on Friday.
They are linked to Paddington Alimentari deli and cafe.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said nearly 40,000 tests were conducted on Christmas Day.
It comes after the state recorded seven new local cases on Christmas Day following a record turnout for testing.
Six of those were residents living in the same house, giving health authorities hope the virus was on its way to being “stomped out”.
At 8pm on Saturday, NSW Health added a North Sydney cafe, a Belrose gym and a Balmain post office to a growing list of hotspots for potential COVID-19 community transmission.
In a health alert sent out late Saturday night, the following venues were added:
SHOPPERS FLOCK TO BOXING DAY SALES
While the CBD was eerily quiet this morning, the afternoon has seen an influx of crowds in the CBD ignoring the Premier’s advice to stay away from the city.
While the morning had barely any lines in the Pitt St Mall and a trickle of people, by 1pm the shopping mall was packed with shoppers, many without masks and not social distancing.
Despite COVID marshalls dotted throughout Myer and the mall the crowds were getting so large by 2pm that shoppers started abandoning all social distancing.
It isn’t just the CBD that has brought massive afternoon crowds, with lines at Westfield Parramatta and DFO Homebush reaching close to pre-pandemic levels.
Most shoppers at DFO were spotted wearing masks, but the heaving crowds and long lines made social distancing difficult.
Earlier, Ms Berejiklian urged shoppers to “think twice” before heading to the CBD.
Far from the usual long lines and heaving crowds, the Boxing Day sales at Pitt St Mall started eerily quiet on Saturday.
At 6am barricades were set up to control queues but barely any shoppers showed up. By 9.30am, a modest crowd was forming at Pitt St Mall, resembling a busy shopping day but still nowhere near the crowds of previous years.
Natasha Birt has been coming to the Boxing Day sales every year since she was 18, and wasn’t going to stop now.
“It’s really quiet … I bring the kids every year and we came early at 6am to avoid the crowds, and once we do what we need we’ll head home,” Natasha said
“I think still getting that experience of everyone coming in, as long as you stay safe, sanitise, and keep your masks on it’s okay.”
With seven confirmed COVID cases on Saturday — and concerns of clusters in Paddington and Circular Quay — both the Premier and NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant cautioned shoppers against heading to town.
“It’s proving to be constrained, but we can’t be too careful under these circumstances. We know this is not the easiest message to give to those retailers, but want to discourage people from going to the CBD tomorrow. Please limit your activity,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“If you are going shopping in the CBD, please make sure you wear a mask.
“We’ve already been in contact with retailers to make sure that there’s social distancing.”
RESTRICTIONS REVERT TO PRE-XMAS RULES
Ms Berejiklian said that restrictions both in the Northern Beaches and Greater Sydney would revert back to what they were before December 23.
She said there was one difference compared to the stay at home rules prior to Christmas.
Those in the northern part of the Northern Beaches – north of the Narrabeen Bridge – are allowed to have five people at an outdoor gathering but not allowed to have anyone at indoor gatherings.
Those in the southern part of the Northern Beaches are allowed to have 10 people at an outdoor gathering.
RESTAURANTS HIT WITH COVID FINES
Two Sydney restaurants have been hit with massive fines after major breaches of coronavirus restrictions over the Christmas period.
Caught out by changing guidelines in the wake of the Northern Beaches cluster, the Sydney eateries in some cases had dozens more patrons than legally allowed.
A Newtown restaurant was fined $5000 on December 23 after police noticed a crowd on the footpath outside and a large number of people inside.
The 45-year-old male owner of the restaurant told police he did not have a COVID safe plan and had 27 more people than allowed in the restaurant.
He was given the opportunity by officers to reduce the numbers but still had too many people in the restaurant.
On Christmas Eve a Campbelltown restaurant was also fined $5000 for exceeding their allowed capacity by 15 people.
The same restaurant was warned a few weeks ago after it had 65 more people than it was allowed inside.
The fines came as a Northern Beaches woman managed to escape the so-called red zone and enjoyed Christmas Day at a home in Bligh Park.
The 32-year-old woman, from Collaroy, told police she travelled to the Porpoise St home on Christmas Eve before she was ordered by officers to drive back to the Northern Beaches.
She was fined $1000 for failing to comply with a public health order.
RETAILERS GUTTED BY BOXING DAY SALES’ ADVICE
Retailers had been hoping for bumper Boxing Day sales, with massive discounts of as much as 75 per cent. Clothing, footwear and accessories were to be among the stock to be offloaded at heavily-discounted prices.
CBD retailers were broadly supportive of the health advice, but were gutted to lose shoppers on the biggest trading day of the year.
“Boxing Day is the biggest day on the retail calendar, and to have people discouraged from attending shops in the CBD is incredibly disappointing, especially as retailers have worked so hard to ensure their businesses are COVID-safe,” Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra said.
“While we support the NSW government in their response to keep the community safe, there’s no doubt this directive will have an effect on Boxing Day trade.
“For people not wanting to head into the CBD, there are still plenty of online options available to snap up a bargain.”
CBD shops will remain open, but shopping centre giant Westfield has urged bargain hunters to don face masks.
“We strongly encourage customers wear a face mask in line with the latest NSW government recommendations,” a Westfield spokesman said.
The advice not to shop in the CBD will hammer smaller retailers who only have stores in the CBD and cannot rely on online sales to account for lost trade.
CBD Sydney Chamber of Commerce’s Angela Vithoulkas said small retailers who feed off the department store foot traffic on Boxing Day would be devastated.
“Boxing Day is such a huge sales day. Every year it makes up for the notoriously quiet January in the CBD,” Ms Vithoulkas said.
“The CBD was already a ghost town in the lead-up to Christmas, so to miss out on Boxing Day sales will devastate small businesses.
“I’ve been in business in the CBD for 30 years and I have never seen it this quiet.
“The directive to stay away from the CBD on Boxing Day has taken away a chance to make up for lost business during COVID-19.
“There won’t be thousands of people that normally flood into the CBD on New Year’s Eve either.”
Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows November was the biggest month in Australia’s online shopping history, climbing by 55.6 per cent year-on-year. In the same month overall retail sales also rose by 13.2 per cent to $31.1 billion.
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