Coronavirus: Supermarket to lift limits on flour, hand sanitiser at Covid-19 alert level 2

Tuesday, 12 May 2020

David Nordell has been helping Civil Defence Waikato with delivering supermarket supplies to vulnerable people during the Covid-19 crisis.

Buying limits on essential items will be a thing of the past at Countdown come Thursday.

As the country moves to Covid-19 alert level 2, Countdown supermarkets will go back to their regular opening times and all limits on products will be removed.

Supermarkets introduced buying limits on essentials like toilet paper and soap amid lockdown panic buying.

Most restrictions were lifted on April 17, however, purchases of high-demand products including flour, hand sanitser and dried pasta were still limited.

Although Countdown will do away with the limits this week, physical distancing and strict hygiene measures will remain, with Kiwis encouraged to keep shopping alone.

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Countdown supermarkets will go back to their regular opening times and product limits will be removed on Thursday.

The number of shoppers in-store at one time will continue to be limited.

General manager of health and safety, Kiri Hannifin, said Countdown was looking forward to returning to a more normal routine, while still making safe shopping a priority.

“We absolutely must remain vigilant when it comes to physical distancing to help prevent the spread of Covid-19,' she said.

“While we all have more freedom, we also have responsibility to help maintain physical distancing from other shoppers and our team members when you’re shopping in Countdown stores. This may mean from time to time you may need to queue.'

From Thursday, all Countdown stores will go back to their pre-lockdown opening times, all product limits will be lifted, popular services like fresh flowers and Lotto will be back.

Countdown's Albert Street Metro and Northwest stores in Auckland, as well as the Cable Car Lane store in Wellington, will also reopen. Countdown Moorhouse, in Christchurch, will re-open next Monday.

The priority shopping hour for emergency workers and medical personnel will come to an end, although that could be reviewed if the situation changed, Hannifin said.

Foodstuffs spokeswoman Antoinette Laird said safety protocols in its stores would be largely the same as during alert levels 3 and 4.

'We will continue to maintain the heightened cleaning protocols, perspex protection screens and physical distancing — and numbers in-store will continue to be managed to ensure both staff and customer safety,' she said.

Its New World, Pak 'n Save, Four Square, Gilmours and Trents teams remained focused on managing supply, meeting customers’ needs and ensuring a safe and comfortable shopping experience.

'As we head into winter, we acknowledge some of the physical distancing protocols will be challenging and we ask customers to bear with us as the teams do their very best to keep queues outside to a minimum while adhering to health and safety requirements.'

Both Countdown and Foodstuffs asked shoppers to remain patient and considerate of each other and supermarket staff.