Coles introduces new coronavirus shopping rules

As health authorities urge Australians to practice social distancing and avoid leaving home wherever possible, one of the major supermarket chains has introduced new store rules to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Coles has today announced four changes for shoppers:

1. Use a trolley as a guide for social distancing. Keep a trolley space between you and other customers.
2. Load groceries at the end of the checkout and wait for the customer in front to finish their transaction before moving on.
3. Pack your own bags to reduce cross contamination. Checkout staff will no longer be packing bags for customers.
4. Pay with cards rather than cash wherever possible.

The new guidelines are in use from today.

Coles chief operating officer Matt Swindles urged customers to abide by the new store guidelines.

“It’s the safe thing to do and it’s the right thing to do,” he told 3AW’s Dee Dee.

“We want to try and give everybody calm confidence that you can safely shop at Coles, and for our teams, confidence that you can safely work at Coles.”

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