Woolworths has announced that it will resume pre-coronavirus trading hours from Monday, May 11 next week.

Community hour, a designated shopping hour from 7am – 8am for the elderly, those with a disability, and emergency workers, is also set to be phased out and replaced with a permanent 10 per cent discount on delivery for the over-60s.

The move follows the end of stockpiling, as the demand for toilet paper returned to its usual sales volume this week.

Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said: “I am very pleased to report that sales of most products are back to pre-COVID-19 levels.

“This easing of demand means we’ve been able to lift the product limits on essentials like rice, pasta sauce, noodles, cleaning products, sugar and eggs. Just six categories still have limits in place (down from 45 at the height of the surge) and we’re hoping we can lift more next week.”

Customers will still be required to observe social distancing guidelines, however, no new hygiene-related initiatives are expected.

“At the moment, we don’t foresee the need for any significant new social distancing or hygiene initiatives, but we do continue to fine-tune and adapt what we already have,” Banducci said.