Were Covid rule breakers going wild in the aisles?
WE VISIT SOME SUPERMARKETS TO FIND THE BEST AND WORST FOR FACE MASKS AND CORONAVIRUS RULES
AS the coronavirus picture in the UK becomes more solemn with the Prime Minister asking us to “stay at home” for the third time, supermarkets have started to step up their enforcement of the rules.
Essential shopping is now one of the few reasons people can leave their homes for “necessities” and medicine.
All main supermarkets have now made face masks compulsory, unless customers are medically exempt - per government guidelines. Other precautions include asking the public to shop alone where possible and using sanitisers outside and inside stores.
The rules come amid complaints that some people are using essential shopping as a loophole to meet friends indoors.
We visited the major supermarkets in Hull to see whether they were practising Covid safety - and some of the shops surprised us.
1 Asda - Kingswood
Asda undeniably caught my attention - for all the wrong reasons.
It was by a stretch the most unsafe I felt in any of the supermarkets I visited, beginning the moment I walked inside.
Despite an employee standing at the second set of doors of the entrance, there were multiple shoppers who entered the store maskless, and who did not appear to be challenged.
The worker was too busy cleaning baskets to keep an eye on who was entering the store, whether they were wearing a mask and if they were in a large group or not prompting the question that for such a busy store maybe multiple staff members should have been on door duty. It does also raise the question of whether staff should be putting themselves in potential confrontations with customers refusing to follow rules.
In Asda’s defence there was adequate signage on entrance to the store which reminded customers to wear a mask - unless exempt - and to stay a safe distance from one another.
The picture in Asda Kingswood was in true Saturday afternoon shopping style, one that would reflect “normal times”.
Staff were masked, but there were many customers who were not and a good portion of those who were, failed to cover their nose. One shopper even walked around with their mask pulled down around their neck.
Social distancing did not even come into the equation and at one point I even found myself cornered by a crowd of people, unable to move.
2 Lidl - Cottingham Road
On the approach to Lidl, there were very few bold warnings to customers instructing them to wear face masks or to social distance.
There was also the absence of an employee at the door.
The sanitise station was used by a few customers as they entered but the station itself appeared to have been mauled as blue roll was strewn all over the floor.
Most customers wore masks but many failed to wear them correctly, with their noses often not covered one staff member even had their nose to the air as they refilled the fruit and veg section.
The popular Lidl’s bakery also caused a stir as customers leaned over one another to grab their baked goods.
Lidl was overall a much more comfortable experience than Asda, despite the lack of signs, a security guard and the enforcement of maskwearing and social distancing.
3 Aldi - Beverley Road
Aldi was by far the safest store to visit this Saturday afternoon. On approach to the store, signs could be easily seen on what was expected of customers - to shop alone, wear a mask and participate in social distancing.
A very vigilant security guard manned the front door, asking each customer to sanitise. He even asked whether I was alone or not, clearly being very strict on groups entering the store together.
As with every store on the list some people failed to wear their masks correctly, but all staff including checkout employees who had an extra layer of protective screening wore their masks.
There were clean and tidy sanitise stations on both entry and exit, something Lidl failed to provide when leaving the shop.
Overall, the shopping experience was a lot less stressful and customers seemed eager to participate in the rules - perhaps because they had been adequately drilled into them upon arrival to the shop.
4 Morrisons Holderness Road
Morrisons had plenty of reminders to customers on the entrance of the store, telling shoppers “No face covering, no entry” and asking them to be considerate of others.
A security guard was also present, although they did not remind anyone to sanitise or challenge anyone who decided to shop in groups larger than one - including a pair of friends who were having a
obvious catch-up inside the front door - one of whom was maskless.
There were quite a few people in Morrison’s that were without face coverings, but they could have been medically exempt.
It did become clear that a number of staff members didn’t take mask wearing seriously, with a few not properly covering their nose. Some staff were without a mask at all, but of course they could be medically exempt.
One staff member in the fruit and veg section even had their mask around their neck, despite a public address sounding in store reminding people to wear face coverings per government guidance.
Not everyone at the checkouts wore masks, but screens were in place.
5 Tesco - St Stephen’s
Signs at Tesco’s front door told the public that they “must shop alone” unless accompanied by children, while reminders were also in place informing customers that without a mask, they would not be granted entry.
Two staff members who wore shields and masks stood at the door to greet customers and reinforce the rules already made clear by signs.
There were multiple sanitise stations in place for customers to make use of, some did and some chose not to - Tesco did not ask shoppers to sanitise like Aldi did.
There were useful social distancing markers throughout the store, which showed customers exactly how far they should stay away from each other, although that did not stop a woman leaning directly over me to grab a mini eggs chocolate bar.
Overall mask wearing was in place despite the usual few who refused to cover their nose. Staff members who did not wear masks wore a sunflower lanyard signifying to customers that they suffered from a hidden disability.
The checkouts were well organised with people using the useful two-metre distancing markers to queue - overall, it felt like a safe environment to shop in.