For some, the support from locals has been ongoing but for others, lockdown and COVID-19 tells a different story.

As Katherine nears the end of the 72-hour lockdown period, owner of Gino's Pasta to Go, Gino Antonucci said the amount of support received over the past two days has been next to non-existent.

"I haven't really had any support so business has taken a nose dive," Mr Antonucci said.

"I opened up on Monday and had one person call so I shut the shop. Then on Tuesday I opened during the day and had one customer at lunchtime and then probably eight to 10 customers in the evening so it was pretty pointless really.

"I can only carry on doing what I'm doing. I'll open up and if it's quiet, I'll just go home because there's nothing else I can do."

Following the Chief Minister's announcement on Monday that Katherine would enter a lockdown, Town & Country Butcher welcomed their fair share of panic buyers but since then, business has slowed.

"It's tricky. At the start the community did support us very much when everyone went into panic mode but now it's very, very quiet," butcher, Zoe Scadden said.

"We still get our regular local customers but I don't think many people realise we're open.

"It's really good that everyone is doing the right thing and staying home but it's really important to support our local businesses because it's very tough."

For Peakabrew, support from the locals has been consistent, said part-owner Dean Milner.

"We always expected this to happen but when it eventually does you think 'oh sh*t'. You wonder what to do, whether you shut up or keep trading. We figured we would have a crack at it and see how it goes," Mr Milner said.

"We have really cut down our menu to just a couple of takeaway items to keep it as simple as we can and still do a ten out of ten feed and good coffee and drinks.

"The community has been thanking us. They say 'thank goodness you're open' and we're sort of like 'no, thank you'. Us staying open is a win-win for everyone

"I hope the other cafes and restaurants keep their wheels turning."

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