Keeping supermarkets stocked and trucks moving has proven itself to be a catch-22, with truck drivers concerned at the risk of the removal of isolation requirements for close contact drivers, a decision that was made in a bid to get logistics back on track. 

The decision from NSW Health to wind back self-isolation for close contacts working in critical industries like food logistics came as more and more grocery shelves were found empty after isolation saw the trucks homebound and unable to fill orders. 

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) National Secretary Michael Kaine said the decision was a reckless one, prioritising operational matters over the safety of workers. 

“Scrapping isolation requirements for transport workers is beyond reckless - workers are being thrown to the wolves by a government that continues to ignore all the warnings,” Mr Kaine said. 

“We know even if you’re asymptomatic you can still spread the virus. Requiring potentially sick people to go to work won’t make supply chains healthy. Sick drivers won’t get stock onto supermarket shelves any faster but it will certainly help the virus hitch a ride across Australia,” he said. 

The shortage of truck drivers, while perhaps inevitable, is proving to hurt local businesses. 

Manager of Lightning Ridge’s Khan’s IGA Sohail Nazir said that just today, their delivery of BBQ chickens didn’t arrive, the perpetuation of an issue that has been building since early January. 

“There’s not enough staff to deliver to the warehouse…all of the fresh food area is suffering,” Mr Nazir said. 

“People travel 60-70 kilometres to get here, and we have nothing,” Mr Nazir said. 

It’s a hit the business can’t afford, after floods that isolated Lightning Ridge already saw dramatic supply issues. 

The list of Covid-19 related obstacles for the shop is long, according to Mr Nazir.

“(Staff) who are working in the area at the front are scared of the people who come in without a mask. Who knows if they have Covid-19 or not,” Mr Nazir said.

As one of the only supermarket suppliers in the region of rapid antigen testing kits (RATs), Mr Nazir said that being unable to supply more to people who needed the kits was a shortfall of the Government. 

“We had an order of six boxes and they sold out within three days. People travelled around 250 kilometres to get here, looking for those kits,” he said.

Unclear messaging and policies around staffing requirements, however, like for the transport issues, has been the most difficult challenge. 

Mr Kaine said that not isolating close contacts is “effectively scrapping the last buffer we had left to protect workplaces”.

“To rebuild a healthy workforce we need to have isolation requirements and rapid testing working together - we can’t have one without the other. Testing combined with precautionary isolation is our best defence against the virus,” Mr Kaine said. 

The pressure continues as the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) recorded 411 new cases up to 8pm last night.

60 were recorded in Western Plains Shires. 

Of those cases, seven were located in the Bogan shire, one in Bourke, five in Brewarrina, three in Cobar, 11 in Coonamble, seven in Gilgandra, one in the Lachlan, nine in Narromine, four in Walgett, one in Warren, and 11 in the Warrumbungles.