One look at the news and you quickly see the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases we are seeing throughout the region—some areas more severely than others. As we head into cold and flu season, during a pandemic, we’d like to again share some of the steps we have taken to help keep you safe.
- Addition of educational materials in all restrooms and breakrooms focused on proper social distancing and hand washing
- Increased the number of hand sanitizing and cart wipe units and refills in all stores
- Offered a free mask to any guest entering the store without one
- Introduced hand sanitizer for shoppers and team members in our check stands
- Revised our sick leave and travel policies to make sure we have best practices in place to avoid or help team members who may be exposed to COVID-19
- Reviewed all cleaning and sanitizing procedures across our store and have increased the frequency and diligence placed into these efforts
- Introduced safety shields at our check stands to help force better social distancing at this critical point in our stores; additionally, we are in the process of introducing signage and floor graphics to help shoppers maintain the recommended 6’ of distance while in line
- Suspended strep testing in our pharmacies. This will help keep our shoppers and teams safe as there is an overlap of strep and COVID-19 symptoms.
- Moved many/all production areas of the store to grab-and-go solutions to minimize contact with our team members, including deli and bulk foods.
- Eliminated the use of reusable bags in our stores to help with the spread of bacteria and contamination.
- Placing a greater emphasis on SKIP (mobile checkout) and online shopping/Rosie to help reemphasize these services as alternatives and best practices for shoppers who can use them
- In-store signage to communicate social distancing and recognizing symptoms
- Introduced pharmacy curbside pickup and delivery
- Introduced telemedicine as another way to receive healthcare