Countdown has temporarily changed its opening hours nationwide and introduced limits on products that are in high demand, as the country responds to changes in COVID-19 alert levels.

The supermarkets' priority assistance online shopping service for vulnerable customers has also been reinstated.

Countdown corporate affairs, safety and sustainability general manager Kiri Hannifin, says the company is in a very good position to navigate the alert level changes and customers should feel safe in its stores.

'Our previous lockdown experience has stood us in good stead. We know that our processes are robust, our supply chain is strong, we can keep Kiwis safe, and we have plenty of food for everyone. We hope this provides Kiwis with reassurance that together, we can deal with different lockdown scenarios again.

'We'd urge customers to consider others when they are shopping in our stores. Whether that's physically distancing themselves from other shoppers, making sure they're only buying what they need, and of course being kind to our team and fellow customers,” says Kiri.

Today Countdown has introduced the following:

Store hours:

All Countdown stores throughout New Zealand will close at 9pm tonight and re-open at 8am tomorrow, the new hours of 8am to 9pm will be in place until further notice.

Product limits:

Limits are in place for a number of products that were particularly impacted when the country went into lockdown in March. From today there is a limit of three on the following categories:

• Flour
• Rice
• Dry Pasta
• Canned Baked Beans and Spaghetti
• UHT Milk
• Frozen Vegetables
• Toilet Paper
• Paper Towel
• Personal Wash
• Hand Sanitiser
• Paracetamol
• Household Cleaner
• Period Products
• Baby Formula

A limit of six has been put on wine and beer and a limit of one pack per customer has been put on all mask products.

Priority Assistance online shopping service

As with March and April, Countdown has seen significant volume to its online shopping sites over the last day. To help make sure it can get groceries to those New Zealanders who are unable visit their local store and considered at risk from COVID-19, they have re-started their priority assistance service.

Customers who were previously approved for this service will already automatically have access to priority online delivery slots. New customers may be able to apply for priority assistance from tomorrow.