The usual and boring task of grocery shopping became a stressful necessary thing from the to-do list during the pandemic caused by COVID-19. The common questions regarding the shopping took place during this uncertainty caused by the virus are:
- How to make it less stressful?
- How to prepare for this?
- What to wear and how to protect yourselves from the virus?
- And how to combine all the recommendations during the shopping?
Signature Water and Fire Restoration have prepared a simple guide with known facts and best practices for making grocery shopping more convenient for you.
Short Jotting with Facts to Know
- You cannot get the coronavirus through the food;
- The COVID-19 can only be transferred from person to person through someone’s sneezing or coughing;
- The Coronavirus can contaminate the surfaces when the injured person sneezed or coughed close to them. You can get the virus by touching such surfaces and then touching eyes, nose, lips, or mouth;
- The virus can be transmitted even by people, who don’t feel any disease’s symptoms.
Considering all of the facts above, many stores do their best efforts working to provide visitors with a safe environment during the time of the virus spreading. The stores’ limited the number of visitors allowed to be inside of the premises at the same time, carefully disinfect all surfaces, which are frequently touched by visitors including carts, counters, and others and put the convenient marks to show the safe distance to keep from each other.
Quick Guide on Shopping
To be effective during the shopping you should consider several stages of it. The first one is to prepare for shopping before visiting the store, the second one is the correct behavior in the store, and the third one is to act properly when you go back home.
Guide How to Prepare Before Shopping
The first thing to decide is whether you feel the real necessity to go shopping? The main point is to make efforts and try to get by with the staff you have already have by consuming it slowly for a long time (a week or better 2 weeks).
If it’s impossible to stay with things you have you can also order the delivery of the products from the store you like. Some stores offer the service when you can make the order, make a prepayment, so the products will be packed and delivered to the car when you come and there will be no need to spend time in the store with other visitors. These measures are aimed to reduce the number of store visitors, which potentially can transmit the virus to each other.
In case you decided you need to visit the store personally the following advice should be followed:
- Avoid visiting several stores, plan your buying list to complete shopping at one place;
- Choose the non-peak hours for your shopping;
- Do not make shopping with all your family, try to do it alone;
- If you feel some symptoms similar to Coronavirus or you know about some contacts with people who have it, please stay home and ask friends for help.
What Need to Be Done While You’re at the Store
It is very important to take your own sanitizer from home to disinfect your hands once you enter the store, then during your choosing the fresh produce, and once you left the store. And not only hand need to be sanitized, but also card readers, your cards, and basket handle.
To prevent the virus from spreading from infected people who do not have symptoms yet, it is necessary to wear cloth masks for every visiting the store or any other public place. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to use gloves since they get contaminated just like your hands do.
Please do not forget about physical distancing from other people, not less than a six-feet distance, and in any case, do not touch your face with contaminated hands.
What Need to Be Done Once You Come Back Home
The groceries that you have bought and brought home need to be placed on a wiped surface. Then you will need to wash your hands good enough.
Use sanitizer to disinfect non-perishable goods before packing them away. Single-use bags need to be thrown away. The surface where your groceries were placed needs to be disinfected. If there are any reusable bags they need to be washed thoroughly. And then wash your hand one more time.
All of the fresh produce that you have bought need to be rinsing good enough. But do not use soap for it because it may cause you to feel sick.
So, be careful, use all of the tips and knowledge that you learned from this article and keep yourself and your family members and friends safe during this COVID-19 pandemic.
In case you need professional help in cleaning and disinfection of your home or work environment in Illinois, feel free to call Signature Water and Fire Restoration, and our team will help you to handle this issue effectively and fast. Here is our 24/7 phone number: 1-224-515-0100.
Also, please be noticed, that there is no process or chemical that can eliminate one hundred percent of all organisms.