Charity stores open but encourage people to take 'proper hygiene precautions'

Due to the rapidly changing rules and limitations regarding COVID-19 St Vincent de Paul is Goulburn has now temporarily closed its doors.

As of 5pm Monday, March 30

Charity stores across the region have put measures in place to limit the spread of coronavirus to customers, volunteers and people who wish to donate.

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St Vincent de Paul in Goulburn is no longer accepting donations but the store is still open to purchase goods. Volunteer Tina said the storefront was operating with "skeleton staff".

"It's pretty hard yakka at the moment," she said.

The charity shop has imposed a 10 person limit on the number of people allowed inside to adhere to social distancing rules.

While the Goulburn Salvation Army shop is open and still accepting donations, they have ceased pick ups and delivery.

Salvos Stores national director Matt Davis said all stores were open, operating and would continue to serve their local communities and accept donations through their doors.

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"Throughout this time, we have been in regular contact with our team members providing them with updates and reminding them of hygiene practices that they must follow to ensure their safety and wellbeing, as well as that of our customers," he said.

"We understand that you may have some questions around buying second-hand goods and we want to answer these for you.

"We know that Covid-19 can survive on surfaces for varying lengths of time (generally no longer than several days), so we recommend taking proper hygiene precautions before using your goods to mitigate the risk to you and your family."

The Salvation Army recommends doing the following before using purchased items:

"This is definitely a challenging time, but we know that Australians can support each other and our communities," Mr Davis said.

"If you, or anyone you know is having a difficult time... we encourage you to reach out to The Salvation Army Australia for support."

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