Grocery shoppers in Washington, D.C., are about to see some changes at the checkout lane.
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an order dictating that all grocery store customers must wear a mask or facial covering. The grocery stores are responsible for making sure that people heed the order.
“Our grocery workers are on the front line of the response to this pandemic,” Bowser said at a Thursday press conference. “All of us … need to do everything in our power to keep them safe.”
The order also mandates that grocery stores need to create one-way aisles where possible, end the use of buffets, and limit the number of customers inside stores further.
A day prior to the order, Safeway and Giant Food announced similar moves for the chains’ D.C.-area stores, including the formation of one-way aisles. Arrows will be placed on the floors of the stores to direct the flow of customer traffic and maintain social distancing practices.
First lady Melania Trump, donning a surgical mask, released a public service announcement Thursday urging others to wear masks in public. The Trump administration has urged people to wear some form of face covering when leaving the house.
The district has had at least 1,440 cases of the coronavirus and 27 deaths. Other areas and adjoining counties have also been plagued by the virus, with Arlington County, Virginia, having more than 250 cases and two deaths and Montgomery County, Maryland, seeing almost 1,100 cases and 26 deaths, according to the most recent tally from Johns Hopkins University.
