Mr Claus will not be able to appear at North Orange Shopping Centre.

"With kids and social distancing regulations, it's just too difficult," said a management spokesperson.

However Santa will be making it to Orange Central Square.

"We are pleased that Santa will be visiting Orange Central Square this Christmas," said Rachael Cowper from Charter Hall, the company that manages the shopping centre.

Santa will be in the centre from Thursday December 10 to Christmas Eve, for four hours a day.

"This year, Mrs Claus will be accompanying Santa," said Ms Cowper.

"Mrs Claus will be assisting our shoppers and Santa to adhere to social distancing and hygiene protocols.

"Protecting the health and well being of Santa, Mrs Claus and our community remains our priority.

"We understand that the kids will be very excited to see Santa and Mrs Claus this year but we do ask that they maintain a 1.5-metre distance at all times."

Photos will be available, however Santa will remain on his fenced set while children will stand just outside the fence line.

Orange City Centre is yet to make a decision on whether Santa will be able to visit this year.

"We'd love for Santa to be able to come," said a representative from the centre.

"We're trying to figure out how we could do it safely with COVID restrictions.

"What we don't want to do is spread COVID while we're spreading Christmas joy."

At more than 1,700 years old, Santa Claus has lived through other pandemics, including the Great Plague of London (1665/66), the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic (1793), the Spanish Flu (1918-20) and the Swine Flu (2009/10).

Send us a letter to the editor using the form below ...