Covid Melbourne: Chadstone Shopping Centre, The Glen, Box Hill Central

As marshalls and security clamp down ahead of a possible lockdown, here’s how the city’s major retailers are responding.

Masks are back at shopping centres across Melbourne.

Mask wearing is being enforced at some of Melbourne’s biggest shopping centres ahead of a possible lockdown.

The precautions come as shoppers at some supermarkets around the city have started panic buying.

Vicinity Centres — owners of Chadstone, The Glen and Box Hill Central — has put Covid marshals in place to monitor mask-wearing.

“Where customers do not have masks, marshals provide them with one,” a Vicinity Centres spokesperson said.

“Partnering with the community to support everybody to follow the directions of the relevant state governments has proved an effective approach with high compliance.

“In addition to providing masks and monitoring usage, our centres have introduced distance signage, hand sanitiser at entrances and increased cleaning schedules.”

When Leader visited Chadstone shopping centre on Wednesday, almost all shoppers were wearing masks, with a marshall offering disposable masks to those without one.

Chadstone shopper Ellie King said most people were doing the right thing and wearing masks.

She said she had no problem about entering another lockdown, if it was necessary, but urged everyone eligible to get the Covid vaccine.

It comes as several supermarkets across Melbourne were again stripped bare of toilet paper by panicked shoppers, including at Bayswater Woolworths.

Empty shelves at Bayswater Woolworths.

Meanwhile a number of people infected with Covid have recently visited stores at Pacific Epping.

These include: Woolworths between 6.25pm and 7.15pm and Coles between 6.46 and 7.35pm on May 20; and Pacific Epping’s Urban Diner internal food court between 1.15pm and 2.30pm and Chemist Depot between 11.15am and 12pm on May 23.

All have been cleaned and reopened apart from Woolworths, which is expected to open again in the next 24 hours.

Pacific Epping general manager Andrew Drivas said:

“The health and wellbeing of our community is always our top priority, and we take the government mandated directive to wear a mask while indoors very seriously.

“We ask our community to adhere to this government mandated directive unless they have a valid reason not to. I’m very pleased to see so many people doing so.

“Alongside our comprehensive signage campaign that reminds our community to wear a mask, our security team regularly patrols the centre to manage our community’s adherence to this mandate, an effort that is bolstered by close work with local police.”