13 Ways to Prevent the Spread of Disease When Shopping

While it is better to stay at home during quarantine, it cannot be helped to go to the supermarket once in a while for some essentials. When going out, it is still important to follow safety measures to ensure that the virus will not spread further. (SEE ALSO: 5 Popular Pinoy Grocery Stores in Qatar)

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry shared a list for those who are going out to shop. The steps are easy to follow, and these will be useful for everyone.

shop safely

Observe Safety When Shopping

For those who need to go outside to replenish their stocks, there’s a set of guidelines to be followed. These steps ensure that the person will be safe from catching the virus or from spreading the virus to others around them.

Here are the steps:

1. Limit the grocery store visits to only one person and avoid taking children.

The less person to go out of the house, the lesser chance that the virus can affect more people. Children should also remain at home, because their resistance might not be strong enough to resist infection.

2. If your household workers are doing the shopping, explain to them the precautionary measures.

Anyone who goes out of the house should be armed with the information they need to be safe from the virus. They should take care of themselves so they will not bring the virus back home.

3. Make a grocery list prior to leaving your house.

Having a list of the things to buy makes the shopping trip faster.

4. Reduce the number of visits, purchase enough groceries to last 1-2 weeks, but do not over purchase to leave stocks for others.

To minimize the incidents of having to leave the house, it would be better to buy items that would last for days. but make sure that these are all the things needed in the house, so that there will be items left for the other shoppers.

5. Ensure you always leave a distance of at least 1.5 meters between yourself and others.

Social distancing is the norm nowadays. So leave enough space from the other person to lessen the chances of catching any virus from them, if any.

6. Ensure you disinfect carts and baskets prior to use, or wear disposable gloves and throw them in a trash bin immediately after use.

since different people use the carts and baskets, it is advisable to disinfect the handle before using it. This way, whatever germs or organisms are present will be cleaned. It also a good idea to wear disposable gloves to further lessen the microorganisms that can stay in one’s hands.

7. Avoid touching your nose, mouth, and eyes while shopping.

By not touching the nose, mouth and eyes, there will be lesser chance of the virus in getting inside one’s body.

8. Use electronic forms of payment instead of cash. Use a tissue when entering your PIN number.

Cash can also carry germs and diseases so this should not be circulated often.

9. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer (60% alcohol) immediately after you leave the grocery store.

By immediately disinfecting, any germs that might be in the hands will be removed.

10. Place grocery bags in the trunk of your car and not on the seats of your car.

This ensures that any germs present in the purchased items will not go to car seat, which might be transferred to future passengers of the car.

11. When you reach your home, dispose of the grocery bags immediately and wash the purchased items.

It is best to throw away grocery bags because these are exposed to various germs or dirt, the same goes to the purchased items from the store so they need to be cleaned first before storing.

12. Ensure to disinfect and wipe the surfaces that were in contact with the grocery bags and the products that you purchased.

There is a chance that the germs from outside transferred to the surfaces at home so these should be cleaned as well.

13. When you finish storing the products, wash your hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

When the task is done, it is advisable to clean the hands to ensure that there are no germs left over from the trip outside

Here is the list shared by the Ministry of Public Health:

By following these steps, the chances of spreading the virus inside the home will be lessened. By being safe and responsible, we will be safe from the outbreak.

READ NEXT: A Guide for Workers During the Pandemic