Tips to stay safe when grocery shopping
Apr. 4, 2020 PLYMOUTH VOICE.
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Medical professionals suggest limiting the number of trips to the grocery store and when you return they say there are important steps you should take to remain safe from exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Jeffrey VanWingen, MD, a Grand Rapids family medicine specialist is sharing his safety tips for grocery shoppers in this 13-minute YouTube video.
According to Bridge Magazine, as of Saturday morning, VanWingren’s first video posted March 24 had nearly 25 million page views in more than 100 countries. It is translated into 10 languages and a woman in Lebanon is working on a sign language version. On Thursday, he got shout outs from CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta and NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt and a call from a U.S. Department of Agriculture official offering more tips and seeking to collaborate with him.
In addition, Bridge has offered the following tips for shoppers derived from numerous experts and safety advocates they interviewed.
Here is a summary of their basic steps to stay safe:
- The obvious — don’t grocery shop if you’re sick, coughing, sneezing, etc
- Critical: Maintain six feet minimum distance from all other shoppers and store employees.
- Before you go, have a list, stick to the plan, get in and out of the store
- Use cleaning wipes (your own or store-provided) to wipe down your cart.
- One shopper per family. No children.
- Touch only fresh produce you intend to buy. If it’s not going in your cart, don’t touch it.
- Don’t chit-chat with stockers, cashiers or other shoppers.
- Check out, get back to your car, rub your hands with bacterial sanitizer.
- Once home, wipe down boxes and plastic containers with disinfecting wipes.
- If possible, set aside groceries not immediately needed in a garage or on a porch.(Some research suggests the virus can survive several hours or days on surfaces like cardboard boxes.
- Thoroughly rinse fruit and vegetables in running water but don’t use soap or a disinfectant, which may contain toxins.
Plymouth Voice.
