Limits placed on shoppers at Tennant Creek’s temporary supermarket in wake of panic buying

New shopping restrictions are in place for some regional Territory shoppers in the wake of panic buying, including temporary store closures when crowd numbers are exceeded.

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PRODUCT limits have been placed on grocery shoppers in Tennant Creek after residents started panic buying at the town’s temporary supermarket following the detection of a Covid-19 case in the Territory.

IRAM (Indigenous Retail Asset Management), who owns and manages the IGA, chief executive John Kop said there was no need for panic buying.

“Our supplies are unaffected, we will continue to receive goods.

“However, panic buying is putting pressure on our ability to provide a safe environment for customers and staff,” he said.

Mr Kop said the Tennant Creek temporary supermarket and BP service station were closed for a couple of hours on Saturday for an end of year stocktake but both are now operating normally.

The stocktake meant the delivery of some fresh food had been delayed until Sunday.

In response to the panic-buying, management has placed limits on what people can buy to ensure shelves remain stocked.

“We have limits on all essential items such as toilet paper, eggs, bread, milk, long life milk and flour (one of everything per person). However, we understand there are some large families and stations who need more than this so we are being flexible.

“We are monitoring the sale of other items.

“Our key message is please don’t stockpile. There is no interruption to our supply chain, we have sufficient supplies in place, but if people start to stockpile it means we’ll have empty shelves.”

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Mr Kop said the store had noticed a significant increase in tourists – about 50 per cent – passing through the town, apparently heading to the Queensland border.

“The store can accommodate up to 50 people at a time.

“We are closing for short periods when we exceed this number but we have someone at the door explaining this.

“Occasionally we are closing with lower numbers if there is congestion at the check out.”

All customers need to check in with the Territory check-in app or manually; customers must maintain a safe 1.5 physical distance from other people; when there are too many people in the store, it will close until numbers reduce.

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