Dressing gown-clad bookworm picks up a HUGE supply of books

Fashion… by the book: Dressing gown-clad bookworm collects a HUGE supply of reading material as online sales soar and delivery drivers struggle to meet demand

  • Online orders in Australia over past seven days are double same week last year 
  • Residents were forced to queue to collect parcels in Melbourne on Tuesday 
  • One man was seen picking up books in his dressing gown and sandals
  • Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

Residents queued to collect parcels in Melbourne on Tuesday as online shopping booms during the coronavirus shut down.

One man was seen picking up boxes of books in his dressing gown and sandals while others wore masks to help prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

Those who had to queue to collect their parcels were careful to observe social distancing rules by staying 1.5 metres apart from one another. 

The man was wearing sandals

Today I don’t feel like doing anything: One man was seen picking up boxes of books in his dressing gown

Several residents observed social distancing as they queued apart to collect their parcels

Several residents observed social distancing as they queued apart to collect their parcels

A man in a mask collects a parcel

A woman walks away from the parcel collection centre with a box

Left: A man in a mask collects  a parcel. Right: A woman walks away from the parcel collection centre with a box

According to the Covid-19 Commerce Insight initiative, online orders in Australia over the past seven days are double what they were during the same week last year.

A report by KMPG said online sales are booming and will continue to do so over the coming months and years.

It read: ‘The people who normally fill malls and shopping centres haven’t disappeared.

‘They may be more conscious of expenditure and buying different products, but they are still shopping. 

‘The queues are invisible but they’re crashing servers and online fulfilment processes around the country.’

According to the Covid-19 Commerce Insight initiative , online orders in Australia over the past seven days are double what they were during the same week last year

According to the Covid-19 Commerce Insight initiative , online orders in Australia over the past seven days are double what they were during the same week last year

An Aus Post worker

A man collects his parcels

A report by KMPG said online sales are booming and will continue to do so over the coming months and years. Left: An Aus Post worker. Right: A man collects his parcels

It comes as new Treasury figures predict unemployment in the June quarter will double from 5.1 per cent to 10 per cent. 

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said figure would’ve been about 5 per cent higher had the government not introduced the JobKeeper stimulus package, worth about $130 billion. 

At least 1.37 million people will be out of work by June according to the projections, but that number could have soared to 2.05 million had workplaces not been offered an incentive to keep staff on the books.

Unemployment has not reached double digits in Australia since April 1994, 26 years ago. Australia’s peak unemployment rate of 11.2 per cent was in 1992.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the predicted figures as ‘heartbreaking’ during an interview with the Today Show on Tuesday morning. 

‘It’s a heartbreaking number. Unemployment at that rate, hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs. It is just absolutely heartbreaking,’ he said.

This graph shows how Australia's unemployment rate will likely nearly double to peak at 10 per cent for the June quarter as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis - but it could have been far worse if the government hadn't introduced JobKeeper

This graph shows how Australia’s unemployment rate will likely nearly double to peak at 10 per cent for the June quarter as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis – but it could have been far worse if the government hadn’t introduced JobKeeper

Mr Morrison said he wanted Australians to know ‘we came into this dual health and economic crisis’ in a strong financial position, but that it has nonetheless been a ‘big blow’.

‘I don’t want do lessen that in terms of how we speak of it. It’s seriously impacting on our economy. It’s impacting people’s livelihoods. It’s heartbreaking,’ he said again. 

In February, before the pandemic led to major shutdowns and mass stand downs of workers, the jobless rate was 5.1 per cent.

Economists feared that number would triple – or worse – in the months to follow after the government restricted all unnecessary travel and told people to stay home to slow the spread of the virus.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk