Coronavirus: How to minimise the risk of infection while out shopping

Monday, 6 April 2020

Hundreds of people from the small Northland community of Kaikohe are anxiously lining up in their cars for Covid-19 tests, after a supermarket worker tested positive.

A once boring and harmless trip to the supermarket has become a fearful and frustrating expedition for many as Covid-19 sweeps the globe.

Supermarkets are now one of few available community breeding grounds for coronavirus – putting all the health advice the public has gleaned to the test.

News on Monday a New World worker in Northland tested positive will only increase anxiety over the weekly shop.

A supermarket worker sanitises shoppers' hands before they enter Countdown.

As well thinking about what they need to buy, customers also need to consider a range of advice to avoid possible infection.

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This includes maintaining a distance of two metres from fellow shoppers and staff in busy aisles, remembering to use hand sanitiser and wiping the trolley handle with disinfected wipes.

New World Bishopdale in Christchurch with a line of shoppers on day six of the lockdown.

Also, trying not to pick packets of chips up and put them back on the shelf because you got the wrong flavour – potentially leaving them covered in contaminated germs.

And then there is the mask debate. Should shoppers be wearing them as well as staff? And what about wiping everything down with soapy water when we get home?

Countdown said it would not apply for the wage subsidy.

HOW CAN SHOPPERS KEEP SAFE?

Social distancing and washing hands before and after shopping are the key 'musts' of official health advice.

A masked man waits to enter a supermarket in Wellington. Advice is unclear whether the general public need to keep their faces covered.

Other precautions that are 'good to do if possible' include having one designated shopper per bubble, using a contactless card to pay, bagging groceries away from others and only touching what you want to buy.

Optional extras are taking a soapy cloth to wipe down the trolley handle and washing items with soapy water when you get home.

The 'shopping safely' page on the covid19.govt.nz website is silent on the use of masks and gloves.

University of Otago professor in public health Dr Michael Baker said following the Government advice would help shoppers avoid the two established paths of transmission.

'Either you have a respiratory droplet that someone has breathed out or coughed out that you inhale or falls on your eye and gets into your respiratory tract via your tear duct.

'The other way is if you touch a surface that contaminated droplets have fallen on.'

Baker said supermarkets were low-risk environments, but the virus was very infectious.

The suggested precautions were intended to 'push that risk down even further'.

People should focus on the actions within their control, he said, like observing physical distance and thoroughly washing hands.

Baker did not think shoppers needed to wear masks, but said there was evidence to support essential workers doing so as they were exposed to so many people each day.

A checkout staff member told Checkpoint there have been daily tears, racial abuse and - in some cases - violence.

'If they are infectious for a couple of days before they have symptoms, there is a potential they could breathe out viral particles that are infected and that could pose a risk to those they have contact with.'

WHAT ARE SUPERMARKETS DOING?

Foodstuffs and Countdown say they are helping customers and staff implement the official guidelines, mostly notably by limiting numbers in store.

The cap on customers varied, depending on the size of each store, but was aimed at allowing customers to maintain the recommended two-metre distance, the companies said.

Supermarkets are using floor markers to indicate where shoppers should wait in line to maintain the safe distance.

Additional measures include plastic screens in front of checkouts, provision of hand sanitiser, and disinfectant wipes to clean trolley and basket handles.

At some stores, customers are being asked not to pack their groceries into their reusable bags at the checkout.

Others are inviting customers to avoid queuing by registering to be texted in their cars when its their turn to shop.

WHAT ABOUT MASKS FOR STAFF?

Foodstuffs said some of its stores were providing masks and gloves for staff who wanted them, while Countdown confirmed it had chartered a plane from China 'to source PPE for our team and will continue to do so as required'.

Countdown general manager of health and safety Kiri Hannifin said the company had looked at 'any and all international markets, as well as what we could source in New Zealand'.

First Union, which represents about 8000 supermarket workers across both companies, said it supported a strong call for masks by members.

Following negotiations, Countdown had agreed to supply its workers with masks, secretary for retail and finance Tali Williams said.

'By and large, what we hear from our members is people do want masks, gloves, hand sanitisers … anything you can possibly imagine.'

The Government's advice for workers appears mixed. The covid19.govt.nz website's information for essential businesses section says protective equipment for staff 'as appropriate' may be considered.

But masks and gloves are clearly marked as not required for supermarket workers on a poster that reads 'PPE requirement for essential non-health workers'.

Williams said supermarket workers were 'copping flak' from customers for not wearing a mask, but were also anxious about being infected with the virus.

First Union wanted to see consistent supply of personal protective equipment and security across all supermarkets.

Videos provided by RNZ.