Know your rights: How to shop safely during the coronavirus restrictions

During the
COVID-19 pandemic, people have a lot of questions about how to shop safely.
First of all, you should not leave your house to shop if you have any of the symptoms
of coronavirus or if you are over 70 or in a medically-vulnerable group.

If you do go
out to shop, you should try to shop in stores that have introduced
precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. Things to look out for
include:

• Staff controlling the entry and exit of
  customers to limit overcrowding
• Facilities available to clean and sanitise
  trolleys and baskets between use
• Provision of hand sanitisers (with a
  minimum alcohol content of 60+%) at entrances and exits
• Clear marking on floors to help customers
  keep to physical distancing measures
• Separate shopping times for vulnerable and
  older people

Some tips
when shopping are:

• Take your own shopping bags and, if
  possible, put items directly into the bags and avoid contact with baskets or
  trolleys.
• Sanitise your hands when you enter the
  store, ideally with your own sanitiser or, if available, that provided by the
  store.
• If using a basket or trolley to shop,
  sanitise its handle. It is not recommended that you wear disposable gloves as
  they can give you a false sense of security and your hands can get contaminated
  when you take them off.

When you get
home you should:

• Immediately wash your hands.
• Put your shopping away as normal. You
  should always put away your shopping as soon as you get home, especially
  perishable foods which must be stored in the fridge or freezer.
• It is not necessary to sanitise the outside
  of food packaging. While there is some evidence that the virus can survive on
  hard surfaces, the risk from handling food packing is very low and there is no
  evidence that the illness can be transmitted in this way.
• Wash your hands again after you have put
  your shopping bags away. It is not essential to sanitise surfaces or shopping
  bags, but if you do, follow the manufacturer’s instructions about how much time
  is needed before wiping the sanitiser off.

Safefood has published useful guidance on how to shop safely for groceries during the COVID-19 emergency period and you can visit citizensinformation.ie for regularly updated information on COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Citizens Information Centres are offering a phone and email service. You can access information and advice from:

• The Citizens Information Phone Service: call 0761 07 4000, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
• Your local Citizens Information Centre: find the phone number on the Find a Centre page on citizensinformation.ie.
• Our email channel: email covid19@citinfo.ie, include your telephone number and and an information officer will call you back within 2 working days.