Central Florida businesses install sneeze guards between cashiers and customers
Central Florida shoppers heading out for groceries, liquor or to fill a prescription can expect to soon find plexiglass between them and the cashier.
Retailers are rolling out sneeze guard-like barriers and other measures to separate customers and employees because of coronavirus.
Walmart, Sam’s Club, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Más, and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits are all putting in plexiglass barriers at cash registers and other spots throughout their stores in the coming days.
Some of the businesses also have carried out other measures to ensure customers follow social distancing rules of 6 feet as they wait in line.
The changes are just the latest measures taken because of coronavirus. Retailers have created special hours for seniors and reduced their normal hours to give employees time to restock shelves and sanitize stores.
At Walmart and Sam’s Club, the sneeze guards are being installed in pharmacies and will be put into place at the cash registers in the next couple of weeks.
The company is also putting decals on the floor to show customers how far to stand from each other while waiting in line to make their purchases.
Walmart is also no longer making customers sign for their delivery and pickup orders, with shoppers either just opening their trunk for pickup or delivery drivers leaving orders at the door. In-store customers who use the Walmart app will also soon be able to check out without touching a screen.
Southeastern Grocers, the Jacksonville parent company of Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Más, is adding the plexiglass barriers at registers, pharmacies, liquor store counters and customer service desks. The installations are expected to take until April 3 to finish.
Floor markers in the company’s stores will also keep customers at a “two-cart-length distance” at checkout, according to a news release.
“It is imperative that we implement additional safety measures to help shield our associates and customers with protective partitions, social distancing and occupancy regulations to protect them and their loved ones during this time of uncertainty,” CEO Anthony Hucker said in a news release.
Lakeland-based Publix, with more than 100 stores in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties, is also installing barriers at all of its registers, customer service desks and pharmacies.
Publix also announced Friday it is offering to waive rent for two months for businesses that have closed because of coronavirus in the shopping centers the grocery store chain owns. The business could also waive payments for common area maintenance fees and taxes.
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, an Orlando-based liquor store chain, also is adding the plexiglass barriers at cash registers, according to The Palm Beach Post.