SUPERMARKET chains including Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Waitrose have unveilled further changes in the fight to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

New “Covid-19 screens” will be placed around tills at the stores to protect staff and shoppers.

What are Aldi doing?

There will also be two metre markers installed on the floor at each Aldi, along with a series of new notices reminding customers of the importance of social distancing and reduced opening hours.

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These aim to allow staff to re-stock shelves to counter heightened demand for items such as toilet paper and baked beans following the coronavirus outbreak.

It will also reward “tireless” store and distribution staff with a 10 per cent bonus.

Other new measures include Aldi stores being open between 9.30am and 10am on Sundays to serve only NHS staff and members of the police and fire service.

What are Lidl doing?

Thousands of screens will be rolled out in Lidl stores across the country in the coming days.

Christian Härtnagel, chief executive at Lidl GB, said: “The safety of our colleagues and customers continues to be a key priority for us, which is why all of our stores here in Great Britain will be fitted with protection screens at checkouts.

“We hope that this additional safeguard will help to provide extra reassurance for those both working and shopping in our stores.

“We are eternally grateful to all of our store teams who are working hard every day to support their communities.

"And, we would once again like to thank customers for their consideration during this very challenging time.”

What are Morrisons doing?

Morrisons have also installed large perspex screens at all checkouts in all of its stores to support the nation's efforts to follow social distancing advice and to keep checkout operators and customers as safe as possible. 

The protective screens, which are one and a half metres wide and nearly one metre high, will mean that Morrisons customers and checkout staff will be shielded and at a distance from each other.

The clear screens will feature messages to explain this social distancing measure and direct customers to small waist-height windows for transactions. 

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Morrisons stores will continue to take cash but customers will be encouraged to make contactless, Apple Pay or Google Pay card payments if possible.

David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons said: “We want to do our bit to help customers and colleagues from being affected and to help everyone observe social distancing at our checkouts.

"This will help us to continue to play our full part in feeding the nation – it’s more than our job.”

As well as introducing protective screens Morrisons  has increased cleaning in stores, particularly at places regularly touched by customers and colleagues.

Morrisons has also issued hand sanitiser to checkout operators at all stores and has redeployed colleagues vulnerable to the virus, where possible.

What are Waitrose doing?

A spokesman from Waitrose confirmed that checkout screens have been ordered to protect Partners and customers from infected moisture droplets.

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Supermarkets and convenience shops will also begin to limit the number of customers allowed in at any one time, so that social distancing can be observed (limits will be specific to each branch based on the number of tills).  

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Bérangère Michel, partner and executive director, customer service John Lewis Partnership (who also own Waitrose) said: “The health of our Partners and customers has always been our number one priority and we fully support social distancing.

“While these measures will dramatically change how people shop and interact with others in our stores for the moment - they are absolutely vital to ensure that our customers can shop safely and that our Partners are protected as they go above and beyond to serve shoppers in this time of crisis.”