Local businesses are joining forces in a new social media campaign to combat the devastating impact of Covid.
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Popular business, Church Street Cafe suffered a 70 per cent loss of its regular revenue when it was listed as a Covid-19 exposure site in June. Two Covid-positive people who ignored a lockdown order in Melbourne travelled through NSW and stopped at various locations in Dubbo, including Church Street Cafe.
There were no local cases as a result but the incident was devastating for some of the region's businesses, and three weeks later, they're still suffering. Now, business owners are uniting to encourage those not affected by the state's stay-at-home orders to continue visiting their local shops.
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The #SafeWithUs hashtag was the brainchild of Church Street Cafe owner Errin Williamson, and Melbourne business Foodie Coaches, and supported by Dubbo Regional Council (DRC).
Mrs Williamson said, "Despite our CovidSafe plan, and the fact everybody was safe and nobody tested positive, and we were deemed safe to continue trading, it unfortunately didn't stop the bad press that came with being 'named and shamed' as the Covid-cafe.
"The flow-on effect of this can be super devastating to small businesses. We've seen a drop of about 70 per cent in sales, and other impacted businesses in Dubbo have reported a similar, potentially devastating trend."
Sophia Acheson, owner of clothing shop Klou, has also noticed a big decline in foot traffic. She hopes the #SafeWithUs hashtag will encourage locals and regional visitors to keep coming to stores and buying locally.
"I hope it gets people out and about, and that everyone knows businesses in our region are Covid Safe," Ms Acheson said. "They have Covid Safe plans, there's QR codes at the entrances along with hand sanitizer, shops and restaurants are cleaned; we are safe and we want people to come out and shop locally. "
DRC's Economic Development Officer Shannon Starr is encouraging people to mask up and show their support. "For every $100 spent in Dubbo on food and beverage services, like our cafes and restaurants, the on-flow of that spend multiplies to $193 for the overall economy," Ms Starr said. "The money that locals spend in local stores, employs people who earn wages, who then spend their wages on local offerings and so on.
"Spending locally during these times is so important, when comparing local spending to buying online the flow-on impacts of online spending to your neighbours, your friends, the people we see in our communities every day is much less."
Businesses can get on board by sharing a Facebook post with the hashtag #SafeWithUs, and tag @DubboRegionIgnite.
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