In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, Arges is the first county in the country where the decision was made to ban the use of hand shopping baskets in stores, and only pushchairs will be allowed, at least in the hypermarkets that have them.
"Prefect Emanuel Soare met on Thursday with representatives of supermarkets and large shopping centers in the county, in an attempt to find solutions to avoid overcrowding and reduce the risk of infection with the new coronavirus. The meeting was also attended by representatives of DSP Argeș, the Police, the Gendarmerie and ISU Argeș.
Taking into account the high number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus, but also the fact that the mini-holiday on December 1 and the winter holidays are approaching, Prefect Emanuel Soare decided, together with the representatives of economic operators, to implement several limitation measures of crowding and the risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
By mutual agreement, it was decided to give up hand shopping baskets, which represent an epidemiological risk factor. At the same time, several dispensers with disinfectant will be installed, for hand hygiene. Supermarket employees and security guards will be more vigilant and will urge customers to comply with health protection rules - especially wearing the mask correctly and keeping physical distance. If necessary, customer access to the store will be limited. At the same time, the institutions with control powers will continue the checks, for non-compliance with individual protection measures the fines are between 500 and 2500 lei.
In order to avoid overcrowding at cash registers, it was decided to keep as many as possible open, especially during peak hours. Also, in stores where queues form close to the cash registers, it was recommended to install partition panels made of Plexiglas.
Broadcasting of messages communicating the protection rules in force will be done more often, and retailers will encourage home orders (where such services are available). The Prefect of Argeș County decided with the representatives of supermarkets and shopping centers to stay in touch and look for new solutions together to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
At the same time, the prefect Emanuel Soare recommends to Argesans not to go shopping accompanied by several family members, to avoid busy hours and to limit the time spent in the store."
