Supermarkets take steps on distancing

Supermarkets in Kent are ramping up social distancing measures by enforcing one-in, oneout policies and marking hazard squares on the floor. Pictures taken at stores across the county show strict two-metre queuing gaps are in place, with large Xs drawn on the ground to separate shoppers. One man said it took almost three hours to grab his weekly shop at Asda as it was only allowing 50 customers in at any one time to stop the spread of coronavirus.

But he reported heavily-stocked shelves at the Canterbury store, in stark contrast to empty aisles seen during recent panic-buying.

“It took me two hours and 45 minutes from arriving to leaving, but they had everything,” he said.

“There was loads of chicken and not one item of fruit and veg was out of stock.”

In Tesco Express stores, hazard tape has been used to mark out two-metre squares on the floor, with marshals on doors telling shoppers not to share a space with other customers. Gloves have also been placed in baskets next to stands stocked with hand sanitiser. Some aisles have even been cordoned off, with store staff grabbing items on request for customers.

One shopper said: “I know why they’re doing it, but it all felt a little bizarre.

“You had customers literally standing in one square and waiting for someone else to move before they did.” Waitrose was the first store to tighten its rules on social distancing following the partial lockdown imposed by the government on Monday night last week.

Others have since followed suit, with most implementing at least a two-metre gap in long queues outside stores. Sainsbury’s is among them, with chief executive Mike Coupe saying: “We will limit the number of people allowed in our stores and at our ATMS at any one time.

‘Food and other essential items are on shelves for longer each day’

“We are putting queuing systems in place outside stores and will ask everyone to please queue at a safe distance of two metres apart.

“Since we put limits on the number of items people could buy, food and other essential items are on shelves for longer each day so please arrive throughout the day to avoid long queues forming in the morning.”

Shoppers are now queuing a distance apart inside and outside supermarkets

Hazard squares marked out on the floor of Tesco Express

Many self-service checkouts are out of use