Scott Morrison says supermarket shelf stackers will be allowed back to work if Covid positive

Scott Morrison has confirmed supermarket shelf stackers who tested positive to Covid will be allowed back to work if they are asymptomatic.

The Prime Minister stressed Coles and Woolworths checkout staff who served customers would not be back at work if they were sick.

But with food on short supply at supermarkets, Mr Morrison said workers in essential industries who didn’t serve customers would be allowed back at work.

‘Not customer facing, I should not on the food side,’ he said.

‘If we’re talking about Coles and Woolies, we are not talking about people who are working on checkouts. 

‘You can shut everything but there will be no food on the shelves

‘The issue goes to workplaces being eroded.’ 

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has endorsed a new set of arrangements covering staff in critical supply chains, including food processing, food production and distribution.

‘What that involves is asymptomatic, close contacts being able to go to work in those sectors,’ Mr Morrison said.

National cabinet is now considering a series of recommendations, which could be extended to cover transport and aviation.