Top Tips To Stay Safe From COVID-19 While Grocery Shopping

In the middle of a pandemic, our usual activities such as going to the grocery stores can be dangerous and stressful. Experts say there are things shoppers can do to make grocery shopping safer from COVID-19. We have compiled some tips for you:

Before you go to the store

1. If you belong to the high-risk vulnerable population (senior citizen, pregnant, or with underlying medical conditions) or if you are feeling sick, do NOT go to the store. Try to find someone else to shop for you, or if possible, use some of the grocery pickup or delivery service options that are out there now. 
2. Plan to stock up on food and other items to limit shopping trips, but don’t hoard or panic-buy.  
3. Prepare a grocery list, preferably on paper, so you don’t have to touch your phone while inside the store. Categorize your list and think ahead how to navigate the aisles of the store.
4. Maximize your trips by getting everything you need in one trip — groceries, market, pharmacies, and food takeout. Make a list of where you need to go and consolidate your needs into one trip with multiple stops. 
5. Try to shop when it’s less crowded. Go during early hours or end of day, preferably on weekdays. 
6. Prepare your disinfecting station once you get home with your groceries.
7. Before leaving for the store, wash your hands and use a disinfectant to wipe down door knobs, car handles, your steering wheel and other frequently touched surfaces. Don’t forget to wear face mask.

At the store

1. Before going into the store, use a disinfectant wipe to clean your shopping cart handle and use hand sanitizer. Make sure you’re wiping down the cart, and don’t touch anything you don’t need to touch.
2. Practice social distancing. Keep at least 1 meter away from other people. 
3. Don’t browse. Avoid touching products and returning them to the shelf. Only touch what you plan to purchase.
4. Don’t use your phone while in the store. If you have to answer calls, use a hands-free device and disinfect frequently.
5. Don’t touch your face while in the store. You can also continue to use hand sanitizer while you shop. 
6. Clean your hands with hand sanitizer or wipes after you have loaded the groceries in your car.

When you get home

1. Go directly to your designated “disinfecting area” at home and put your grocery bags or boxes. Wipe down some of the packaged grocery items, if needed. Wipe or set aside (for 24 hrs) the items with paper and cardboard packages (coronavirus is said to survive on paper for up to 24 hours). Disinfect cans and bottles with bleach solution or alcohol (coronavirus can survive on plastic and metal up to 3 days.)
   
   WARNING: Do not use a cleaning solution or other disinfecting products on food directly (fruits, veggies, etc). Bleach and other disinfecting agents are not to be used directly on produce or any food you will eat.
2. Wash all fresh produce.
3. Put all clothes, masks, gear that went into the public realm into the washer.
4. After shopping and putting away groceries, wash your hands again.

Be cautious when out in public and when you get back home. All of these extra steps take just a few minutes, but these few minutes can make all he difference.

Keep safe and stay healthy!