FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After a second worker tested positive for COVID-19 at a Fort Lauderdale Whole Foods, shoppers like Robin Revir and her stepdaughter Grace aren’t going grocery shopping without a mask.
“When they first talking about masks, they were saying if you were sick don’t wear one,” Revir said outside that Whole Foods located at 2000 N. Federal Highway. “I was like, how could this not be good?”
Inside stores, you see many people wearing masks and observing marked spots to promote social distancing. Grocery chains are taking different steps to protect their clients and employees during the coronavirus pandemic.
Publix installed plexiglass over the weekend to create a barrier between customers and employees. Now they’re saying they will allow workers to wear masks and gloves for their personal comfort.
That comes in addition to disinfecting in aisles and carts and stressing more handwashing.
One Publix in Miami-Dade County underwent a deep cleaning after an employee tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the store confirmed Monday.
Sedano’s has also added plexiglass barriers at checkout stations and provided gloves and masks for employees.
Walmart is taking things a step forward, saying Tuesday that they will begin screening employees for illness. At every store, they say they will start checking employees’ temperatures daily.
If an employee has a temperature over 100 degrees, Walmart will send them home on paid leave and ask them not to return until they are fever-free for at least 3 days. They also provide masks and gloves for those who ask.
Many stores are now also limiting the number of people in the store at a given time.
Meanwhile, Trader Joe’s is joining Costco in announcing they will not accept returns on “overbought products,” guarding against people who hoarded those items.