I have not heard of one case of a large number of grocery store customers getting infected.

[shockey80]

I have heard of some people who work at grocery stores getting infected. That tells us a lot. This virus spreads when people gather, work in an enclosed structure for a long period of time.

Grocery store shoppers are in a closed structure but they are moving quickly, staying away from each other and leaving quickly.

Just something I noticed.

[louis-t]

1. I find myself holding my breath and running.

It's exhausting. I see about 98% compliance with the masks. I wear gloves also. Clean zone, dirty zone when getting in and out of car. Clean hand, dirty hand when putting groceries away.

[leftieNanner]

5. Me too!

What annoys the heck out of me is the shopper who is studying the butter department for ten minutes. Or really any area. Make a list. Buy what you need. Don't stand in the middle of the aisle and ponder, please. Hmmm Chicken noodle soup or Chicken rice soup. What to choose? What to choose? Or also fun are the folks who park their carts in the middle of the aisle and then get on their phone to text someone.

The good news is that my county has had only 55 confirmed cases of the virus. The bad news is that people (especially young ones) are taking this all very casually.

[Sherman A1]

10. The National Pastime is not baseball

It is staring at canned goods or so I came to discover in my 4+ decades of working grocery.

[leftieNanner]

11. At least with canned goods, there ARE a lot of choices

But butter?? This guy actually stood in front of the butter container - actively studying the options - for ten minutes.

Salted, unsalted, organic, imported?

Just fricking PICK one!

[Sherman A1]

18. You have no idea how many times I

Muttered under my breath, “ it’s just goddamn green beans, pick something”, as I stood holding a case to fill the shelf where they were standing.

[Yavin4]

13. The folks that park their carts and on the phone are the grocery shoppers for people at home

They're texting people in order to suggest replacements for items that are out of stock.

[leftieNanner]

16. I don't have a problem with that

But they don't need to take up the entire aisle. Maybe I should just appreciate the fact that I am getting more "steps" because I have to go all the way around to get to where I need to be.

[Ferrets are Cool]

22. Flame away, but not sure why you care how long someone stays in the grocery store.

I just politely say excuse me, get what I want, and go about my business. Maybe some people are very indecisive.

[leftieNanner]

27. I just didn't want to get that close to him.

I waited patiently (almost) until he moved away.

[roamer65]

2. Correct.

It takes a significant duration of breathing aerosolized virus to become infected. It behaves a lot like SARS-CoV-1 in that regard.

[LAS14]

31. See my response to #3. Any ideas?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213475320#post29

[roamer65]

36. It's a balance of virus concentration...

the persons immune system, their PPE, etc, etc.

Can you catch it in a grocery store? Yes. But it is much less likely than if you were hugging or kissing an infected person. Or being in a closed room with them.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

3. Yes, that's been observed by epidemiologists.

Excellent article:

https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them

[Lucinda]

6. Thank you!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. You're welcome!

[LAS14]

29. Yes, this article had given me some sense of security, as grocery stores...

... are the only public places I've been, other than our condo common area, since early March. But then I found out that a friend's son-in-law, taking all precautions, had caught it. Their theory is a trip to Costco, in Colorado, where a lot of shoppers weren't wearing masks. I really wish I knew how he caught it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

34. Maybe he did?

People could still get infected there, it's just not as risky as other scenarios.

That article helped reduce my anxiety about some things too, though.

[exboyfil]

4. I woudl also advise shopping early in the day

[underpants]

9. Googling place also can give you an idea about traffic

When say a doctor in a box or a certain store has the most activity.

[CountAllVotes]

15. That's what I did!

I was going to go to COSTCO on a Sunday but they weren't open yet so I went to another BIG store (Winco) that was open.

By the time I got to COSTCO there was hardly anyone there! They told me had I arrived when they opened, I'd have been in the middle of a "madhouse".

I missed the madhouse that day and haven't dared go out since that time. Too scared! Outbreak abt. one mile away from where I am right now!

[ecstatic]

8. Good point, but how many people would be able to trace an infection

back to a specific grocery store? As opposed to the gas station or somewhere else?

Unless someone is only going to 1 store every 2 to 3 weeks, with no other interactions with people...

[tableturner]

12. Re: supermarkets...high ceilings and constant moving air lowers the danger.

[tavernier]

14. I know I'll get tromped for this, but men, especially husbands

accompanying wives, should not be allowed in grocery stores, with or without a pandemic, and especially during any food buying holidays. They will park their cart in the middle of an aisle, usually diagonally, and stand at one end, blocking any through coming flow. When the traffic is high such as Christmas time, they are often found with a deer in the headlights look, legs nervously crossed as if needing to urinate. When alone, they don’t know the protocol at the cash register, such as being allowed to take out a billfold and money or credit card before their items are rung up, saving a little bit of time. They are also allowed to help and bag groceries when the store is busy and there are no baggers available.

I know, I know… I’ll get a lot of grief for this, but I am a professional shopper and this job can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong people..

[CountAllVotes]

17. I gave up

The only place he *seems* to *perhaps* want to go it COSTCO around lunch time.

Can't keep his paws off of any free snacks that might be around.

No more free snacks, no interest in going with me and wandering off somewhere. ugh. lol!

[stopbush]

20. My experience is the exact opposite from yours.

Male here.

Husbands show up with a list, make the rounds quickly and get out. I will say that I have seen more maskless men than women at my local Ralphs and Stater Bros stores.

Blocking aisles? I’m sorry, but the women win all the awards on that one. I often marvel at how one shopping cart properly positioned by a woman can block five shoppers at a time. And who is on the phone, chatting away, LOUDLY? Again, not the men.

I just got back from Costco (Irvine, CA). No line for gas, and you had to wear a mask to pump gas per City ordinance. I still saw tRump humpers with their stupid oversized urban trucks pumping gas without a mask. In the store, everyone had a mask. They won’t let you in without it, unlike the local groceries. I was in and out in 20 minutes - no line to get it at 11:30am.

[tavernier]

21. Well there you go.

Another delusional male.

[stopbush]

24. No puppet. You're the puppet.

Sorry. It’s the best I could come up with when pushed to the wall.

😱😉

[Buckeye_Democrat]

25. That's been my experience too.

It's usually the women that I see scrutinizing everything, blocking others in the process.

Then there's the whole check-writing ordeal, only pulling the checkbook out of their purses after everything has been rung-up. Well, that doesn't happen as much as it did about a decade ago, but it was always women in my experience.

And I'm certainly not suggesting that ALL men or ALL women behave a certain way, but that's been my experience in general.

The worst for blocking others and taking their sweet time are the elderly in my area. Sometimes they're clearly just mentally slow, but many times they exude an attitude like, "I worked hard for years, and now the rest of you can eat my crap until I'm dead." Lol.
Edit: In that age group, the men indeed seem worse.

[coti]

26. It's been my experience that women can be much more dangerously self-absorbed than men, too

Particularly with regard to driving- in routine traffic, men just seem to be more aware, courteous and respectful. They can also be much more deliberately aggressive, though, if they are stressed for some reason.

What, am I over the line now?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

30. I'll cross the line too, I guess. Lol.

In general, male drivers seem more focused on getting from Point A to Point B, whereas the females tend to observe stores and other stuff along the way like they're potential foraging spots. Then the whole "check my make-up" at stops.

Men tend to be far more aggressive at times, though, and insurance rates reflect it. So the bad tends to outweigh the good in that regard.

Just my opinions, having never applied the scientific method to it. Lol.

[Ferrets are Cool]

19. How would you KNOW where they got infected?

[LAS14]

28. You know if there's "an outbreak," because a lot of infected people report that they've been there.

They report to the health department.

[pwb]

23. Of course grocery stores will keep that from most of us?

How many are infected.

[LAS14]

32. Those reports come from health departments. nt

[cally]

33. My community had an outbreak

With workers mostly and a few customers

[appalachiablue]

35. What about Drug Stores? Our trip was a bit hairy cuz

the script wasn't ready this week and we ended up shopping for a while, unintended...

[nilram]

37. Exactly, workers are breathing the air all day!

And when store owners insist that No Masks Are Allowed, they are endangering themselves and their workers most of all. Those workers then go on to infect their colleagues and their families, and so on to the rest of us.