To help curtail the spread of COVID-19, supermarket chains throughout Connecticut agreed to stricter rules regarding shoppers, and will only be permitting half the regular maximum capacity inside. Shoppers have also been asked to only send one family member at a time during shopping trips.
The measures are similar to those that Norwalk has taken in Fairfield County, where the outbreak has impacted the most residents in the state.
According to reports, the Connecticut Food Association has been in discussion with the state’s largest grocery store chains as they continue to urge Gov. Ned Lamont to issue an executive order mandating the rule.
The reports state that Big Y, ShopRite, and Stop & Shop have are among the grocers to agree to the measure.
“I understand that families, especially those with young children, are experiencing cabin fever staying at home," Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, who first broached the subject, said.
"However, taking the entire family out to a store to get out of the house during the COVID-19 outbreak is unnecessarily dangerous to both your family and everyone else in the store.
"To the extent that it is at all possible, I request that you not allow more than one family member to go at the same time to a store,” Rilling said. “Norwalk – I am pleading with you – take this crisis seriously. Protect yourselves and your families. Stay home and save lives.
"These are drastic measures, but it is the only way we can slow this pandemic," Rilling said. "Our healthcare system is going to be overloaded and that means more people getting sick and more people dying – not just from coronavirus, but from heart attacks, strokes, and other serious medical issues that require attention.”
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