Grocery stores install shields for workers, signs to promote distancing of customers.
Safeway and King Soopers are putting markers on the floors of their stores to physically remind shoppers of the 6-foot distance they should keep away from one another to adhere to social distancing guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus.
The state’s two dominant grocers are also installing Plexiglas sneeze guards at checkstands and, in the case of King Soopers, at other in-store cash registers such as at pharmacy counters and in-store Starbucks locations, to protect employees and customers from the spread of germs.
In Colorado Safeway stores, including at 9229 Lincoln Ave. in Lone Tree, tape physical distancing markers were put down Tuesday morning. More permanent decals are expected to replace them soon.
The markers are being put at designated waiting points throughout stores, especially in busy areas including checkstands, deli counters, bakeries and pharmacies, according to a news release Tuesday. The company is also asking customers not to put their groceries on the checkout counter until the customer in front of them has collected their bags.
As noted on signs in stores, the safe distances between people to limit the spread of the new coronavirus is 6 feet, roughly two shopping cart lengths.
“We have seen our customers begin to implement social distancing on their own with our ‘two carts apart’ reminders as they shop our stores, so we think our floor markers will increase awareness,” said Vivek Sankaran, president and CEO of the Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos., Safeway’s parent company. “We know that with our customers’ help, along with other safety measures we have implemented in our stores, we can create safer environments and help our communities contain the spread of this contagious disease.”
Safeway began installing the clear partitions last week. King Soopers announced Tuesday that the installation of partitions and floor decals started in its stores this week.
The companies’ expanded efforts are aimed at protecting shoppers and employees as the number of confirmed cases of the respiratory infection COVID-19 continues to climb around the globe.
Changes were also announced on the same day Gov. Jared Polis sent a letter to Albertsons Cos. and the local offices of King Soopers parent Kroger pushing for enhanced safety measures in stores. The letter suggests expanding grocery delivery services, providing masks and gloves and other personal protective equipment for workers and limiting the number of people allowed in stores at a given time as measures that could help fight the spread of COVID19. The letter also referenced social distancing floor decals being used by a grocery store in Demark.
Albertsons Cos. operates 100 Albertsons and Safeway stores in Colorado and has more than 2,200 grocery stores nationwide. Last week, it joined several other grocers in reserving shopping time for shoppers most at-risk from the virus, including seniors, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. At Safeway stores, those reserved times are from 7 to 9 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.
King Soopers has enacted new emergency leave rules for workers who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or dealing with symptoms as verified by a doctor, granting them pay for up to two weeks.
An employee at the store at 1950 Chestnut Place in Denver tested positive for the virus earlier this month. The employee had last worked in the store March 6 prior to the positive test.
King Soopers has told employees they can wear gloves and masks while on the job, according to company spokeswoman Jessica Trowbridge, but like medical professionals and first responders across the country, the company is dealing with a short supply of protective gear.
“We are advocating to government officials at all levels for help securing a priority place in line for all grocery workers — after health care workers — to have access to protective masks and gloves,” Trowbridge wrote in a media statement Tuesday.
Colorado-founded Natural Grocers, which operates 157 stores in 20 states, has also implemented changes to deal the pandemic’s impact, including a $2 per hour pay increase for hourly employees, new store hours, a special shopping hour for vulnerable populations and an updated return policy.