Shopper 'saddened' by lack of social distancing at popular store
Several shoppers at Costco have expressed their concern that social distancing laws aren’t being adhered to amid the coronavirus pandemic.
One shopper took to Facebook on Monday to share photos from inside Costco’s Lidcombe store in Sydney.
One image shows shoppers congregating around an open freezer while another shows a discarded glove in the car park.
“I am saddened to see people not adhering to social distancing,” the shopper said.
She said many shoppers were wearing masks and gloves, giving them a false sense of security when it came to the virus.
“Just because you wear a mask, it doesn't mean you are "safe" from contracting COVID!” she said.
The disgruntled customer called on those wearing masks and gloves to use them correctly and not to spread the virus further by touching their faces and other items.
Last week Queensland University’s Associate Professor Ian Mackay, one of Australia’s leading virologists, told Yahoo News Australia the use of masks and gloves was most likely spreading the virus further, if anything.
“What we don’t know really is whether people are used to wearing masks and won’t touch the mask on their face and then rub their eyes, or touch other surfaces and spread the virus,” Prof Mackay said.
“So in fact it can increase the risk of either infecting themselves or other people.”
Echoing the sentiments of the Costco shopper, he said customers will “drag their hands all over the place thinking they’re safe, but they’re actually spreading potential viruses to other people.”
Several other shoppers agreed with the woman, saying they’d seen shoppers ignoring social distancing rules inside stores.
“I visit the Marsden Park store several times a week and I must agree people are non-compliant, people either don't care or just ignore regulations,” one person said.
It comes after the Easter long weekend where stores which continue to operate during the pandemic, such as Bunnings, were packed with customers in stark contrast to closed beaches across the country.
Patrick Noone, Managing Director at Costco Australia, has stressed the wholesaler is striving to provide a safer environment for shoppers and staff and that they’d moved to reduce store capacity as a result.
“We’ve taken steps to control the number of members in our warehouses and asked that members and employees practise social distancing,” he said.
Mr Noone also stressed stores nationally had ramped up their protocols for sanitising surfaces, including shopping cart handles, shelves and registers.
“Be assured we are committed to taking care of our members and employees,” he said.
Shoppers across Australia are becoming increasingly frustrated with a lackadaisical approach to social distancing measures across several stores, including at Woolworths and Coles.
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