Social distancing doesn't seem to exist in grocery stores
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52208)
Staten Island, New York
March 26, 2020 1:00pm CST
We are all told to practice social distancing and to stay 6 feet away (about 1.8 meters) away from people.
But when we go grocery shopping that is not the case, especially when we are standing in line waiting to check out.
The only way to have social distancing be implemented in grocery stores is to limit the number of people that can be at the store at any given time and to not let a person in until a person comes out.
But to do that we need a person standing by the door monitoring the people coming into and out of the store.
11 people like this
10 responses
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
26 Mar 20
Some of our grocery stores have painted lines on the floor so that people know where they are supposed to stand when they are waiting in line. There are empty spaces between the lines and it usually works well, but a few people forget to use them or don't care.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
26 Mar 20
@MALUSE Many people here understand and follow the new rules, but some people just do what they want.
@freelancermariagrace (29342)
• Philippines
27 Mar 20
There are still people who simply can't follow rules
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Mar 20
Yep. And I wonder why that is.
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
26 Mar 20
We have some stores out here limiting people - Trader Joes has been good about that. There is someone out there to monitor lines - and sometimes someone will come out to make sure the line is spaced out well (and to not disrupt other neighboring stores). Other stores have put tape on the floor to mark every 6 feet. But well, not every store does this - and unfortunately not every person follows these social distancing rules either.

@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
26 Mar 20
@lovebuglena I go to our local TJs often . . . the first time I saw this was just a little over a week ago.
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
@much2say Someone on FB posted a pic of my local Trader Joe's and there was a line to get into the store and in that line people were spread about between each other.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
Interesting. I did not see that going on in my Trader Joe's. But then again I was there a few weeks ago.
1 person likes this

@moffittjc (128840)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Mar 20
I work a part-time job at Home Depot, and that is what we are doing in our store. Because our county is under lockdown order, we can only let in 1 person for every 1000 square feet of store space. So, for our store, we can let in 100 customers at a time. We have associates standing by the entry and exit doors, and they keep count of how many people are in the store. At our checkout lines, they have put red X's on the ground 6 feet apart so people know how far back to stand. For the most part, people are doing their best here to maintain the social distance as required.

@moffittjc (128840)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Mar 20
@lovebuglena It's mandatory for all businesses in our county, due to the lockdown order.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Mar 20
That is good! I hope other stores are doing the same thing.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Mar 20
@moffittjc Great! Unfortunately, the thing is just because it is mandatory doesn't mean everyone will follow. But hopefully, everyone does.
1 person likes this

@WorDazza (15826)
• Manchester, England
26 Mar 20
Most of the supermarkets in the UK are operating a strict policy of only allowing a certain number of customers in at a time. You have to queue outside with a 2 metre gap and then when someone comes out the next person is allowed in. The 2 metre spacing is also enforced in the checkout queues.
Although we had to wait a little while before getting in it was quite a pleasant experience once inside as the place was virtually empty.
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
It's good what they are doing. I just heard from someone that one of our grocery stores had a line to get in and people were distancing themselves from each other in the waiting line. There was also a limit on items at the store, which is great because lots of people tend to panic shop and not leave stuff for others.
1 person likes this
@WorDazza (15826)
• Manchester, England
26 Mar 20
@lovebuglena Yeah, they've got limits on a lot of the items here too. I'm hoping that now they're limiting the number of people in the shops that the shelves will start to fill up again and everyone will get a chance to buy what they need.
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
That's smart but I bet it causes long wait times for people that need to shop.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
@mrki444 There should be a customer limit in bigger shops as well but not sure if they do that here.
1 person likes this
@mrki444 (15162)
• Croatia (Hrvatska)
26 Mar 20
@lovebuglena In bigger shops can bigger number of people go in. This is for small shops. It make lines but it safety comes first.

@LindaOHio (222726)
• United States
26 Mar 20
People need to distance themselves when standing in line.
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
My Russian grocery store doesn't practice that. At least they didn't last time I was there.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
That's smart though people should do it without the markers. I get you can't measure 100% 6 ft but approximate.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
26 Mar 20
@lovebuglena There will always be rule breakers.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52208)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 20
That is not good! Overcrowding can spread the virus.
1 person likes this
@KityCat (7739)
• India
26 Mar 20
@lovebuglena exactly. May don't seem to understand the importance of this
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