Lismore grocery shops have been bursting at the seams since the announcement by Premier Gladys Berejiklian that Lismore is one of four shires to have increased restrictions until the end of Easter.

Supermarkets and alcohol were the beneficiaries of customers flocking to their stores to stock up on supplies before the Easter holidays begin. The unknown as to what this morning's locally acquired COVID result will be appears to be the driving force with people preparing for a potential mini lockdown if the number of cases increases exponentially.

Fruit and vegetables, meat and yes, even the much-loved toilet paper was rushing off the shelves.

What will be interesting to note over the Easter break is how many people will be wearing masks when entering retail businesses and hospitality venues and will they be asked to leave if they are not wearing one. This especially applies to supermarkets where you can have hundreds of shoppers at any one time.

Last night after 5pm when the restrictions took force Woolworths Goonellabah had all staff wearing masks and were enforcing customers to wear them while Coles staff were wearing masks but were not enforcing their customers to wear them.

People were queueing up inside Mega Choice to buy masks throughout the day while staff in most stores didn't wait until 5pm yesterday to begin wearing their masks, many went straight on the offensive to adhere to the new restrictions protecting themselves and customers.

The restrictions bring their own worries to our retailers who have already been through a worse situation twelve months ago with a 6-week lockdown. After a very quiet March due to persistent rain and minor flooding, they were hoping for an increase in trade during the school holiday period which starts tomorrow for two weeks.

Tamaya Rose from Café Capello said "it's now a waiting game and it's not just local businesses on the line, it's the welfare of our community this time. We have a better understanding of what to expect and are better prepared at least."

Glenn Tomkinson from the Gollan Hotel said "We were getting on top of it but the new restrictions are somewhat ludicrous and you are better off just shutting your door. We're back to square one."

Matthew Healy from Daleys Homewares and Evans Emporium said this will completely destroy our Evans Head business while Lismore trading has completely ceased today (yesterday). "Depending on how long the restrictions are in place for confidence could be damaged for quite some time. This is incredibly disappointing."

Janice Palmer from Shoppe One "As soon as the news came out everyone seemed to go home, it was a very quiet afternoon. If we can't make enough sales it will severely impact the new staff I have just put on. I was feeling confident before this outbreak but am feeling scared now."

Alex Jackson from The Boys Hair Salon said he has had enquiries about his shop being open and mask availability but no cancellations yet. "I am surprised it hasn't happened before this but now we are just going to have to see how it goes."

Ethan Lim from Uncle Lims Restaurant has felt an immediate impact on bookings due to the 4 square metre rule. Ethan has had to ring customers to try and reschedule them which depending on the outcome may lead to cancellations.

Some businesses have decided to close for the entire 4-day Easter break to not only have a holiday but to save on wages.

Whatever the result this new COVID case brings and the restrictions with it in the coming days, our local retailers are going to need our help to maintain staff in the coming weeks and months. Remember to buy local whenever you can.

Here is a reminder of the restrictions now in force:

• Mask wearing is compulsory on public transport, in retail stores, and in all public indoor settings
• the one person per 4 square metre rule will apply at all public indoor settings including hospitality venues and patrons must be seated
• the number of household visitors will be capped at 30 including holiday rental properties.

There has been some confusion regarding the mandatory mask-wearing on the street yesterday. Basically, if you are going into a retail store of any description or public transport including taxi's and uber's you MUST wear a mask or you will be asked to leave. All staff must be wearing masks at all times.

We will have a further update when the Premier addresses the media later this morning.