A chemist is being boarded up in an area of Sydney with some of the state’s highest coronavirus infection rates.
A treated pine wall was under construction on Wednesday afternoon at the front of the Superpharmacy at Hornsby, in the city’s north, where a wide doorway used to be.
Consumers will soon only be able to access the discount chemist via a narrow, roller door on the side in what appears to be a change to either minimise the number of people inside or keep the public out altogether.
Restaurants and cafes, as of this week, are already restricted to takeaway orders and there is a possibility pharmacists could be next in a bid to stop customers standing within 1.5 metres of each other.
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A chemist is being boarded up in an area of Sydney with some of the state’s highest coronavirus infection rates. A wall was under construction on Wednesday afternoon at the front of the Superpharmacy at Hornsby, in the city’s north, where a wide doorway used to be
In the same block, Daily Mail Australia witnessed a customer swearing at Chemist Warehouse staff after she was told they would no longer be offering refunds under new COVID-19 rules.
After threatening to take them to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission the woman, standing next to her teenage son, aggressively pointed at a security guard and his colleague shortly before 7pm.
Bizarrely, she even accused them of breaching the federal government’s new social distancing rules, even though they were both standing still.
‘One-point-five metres away from me,’ she said.
She became even more aggressive when a salesman told her, ‘Mam, just go now.’
‘I’m not being rude. You talk to me about germs on here, tell him to get away from me,’ she said, before pointing into the face of the security guard.
The woman, carrying a tube of face cream, then used the f-word on the staff after leaving the store in frustration at pharmacies now following the lead of supermarkets and stopping refunds for products that weren’t faulty.
In the same block, Daily Mail Australia witnessed a customer swearing at Chemist Warehouse staff after she was told they would no longer be offering refunds under new COVID-19 rules. After threatening to take them to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the woman standing next to her teenage son aggressively pointed at a security guard and another man who deals with customers
Bizarrely, she even accused them of breaching the federal government’s new social distancing rules, even though they were both standing still
By local government area, Hornsby Shire Council had the state’s highest rate of locally-acquired coronavirus infections with five to nine cases, New South Wales Ministry of Health data showed.
It was equal to City of Sydney council.
By health service region, northern Sydney has the second highest rate of coronavirus infections with 21.86 cases for every 1,000 residents.
Only Sydney’s south-east had more cases with 30.45 cases for every 1,000 people who lived there in an area which contains a larger number of beachside backpacker hostels.
The number of cases in NSW surged overnight by 190 to 1,219, making it by far the state with Australia’s highest number of COVID-19 cases
Demand is now so strong for pharmaceuticals that Superpharmacy has suspended their website until Friday.
‘We have taken our website down temporarily to make preparations for ongoing COVID operational and control issues,’ it said.
‘At this time we are not taking any new website, email or phone orders.
‘Due to the large number of emails we may not get back to you immediately but we will respond to all emails as soon as possible.’
Daily Mail Australia asked Superpharmacy why the front of its Hornsby store was being boarded up.
While demand is strong for supermarket and pharmacy goods, restaurants and pubs have closed since Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week introduced a 100-person limit for indoor venues.
That changed within five days, with the federal government on Monday banning restaurants and cafes from trading unless they were restricted to takeaway food.
Gyms, cinemas and theme parks have also been banned in a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
By health service region, northern Sydney has the second has rate of coronavirus infections had 21.86 cases for every 1,000 residents
Demand is now so strong for pharmaceuticals that Superpharmacy has suspended their website
By local government area, Hornsby Shire Council had the state’s highest rate of locally-acquired coronavirus infections with five to nine cases, New South Wales Ministry of Health data showed
