Guidelines for safe shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic have been developed by the Chartered institute of Environmental Health, the Environmental Health Association of Ireland and the Irish Global Health Network.

The guide will help you to stay safe and protect others when shopping for essentials. 

Please note that this guide is based upon current advice at the time of publication (31 March 2020).

Key points from the guide are as follows:

To protect yourself and others, try to reduce the frequency of your shopping trips, because you will put yourself at a greater risk than if you were to stay at home. 

Before Shopping:

Ask yourself the following: 

• Am I well enough to go shopping? If you are feeling ill, you must not go out 
• Am I in the group that requires shielding? If yes, then again you must not go out 
• Do I need to shop today? Could I manage without certain items and make do? For example, could I bake my own bread? 
• Am I potentially vulnerable, and if so, could I ask someone else to shop for me? 
• Can I go to quieter local shops or arrange with local shops for collection or deliveries? 
• Could I shop online? 

During Shopping: 

• Take your own shopping bags and, if possible, put goods directly into the bags, avoiding baskets or trolleys. 
• Try to avoid peak shopping times, although it may now be difficult to determine when these are. 
• Maintain a safe social distance of two metres from all other shoppers and staff – this includes routes into and out of the store. You may have to queue outside before gaining access. 
• If you need to handle a basket or trolley, ask if it has been sanitised since last being used. If not, sanitise using either your own sanitiser or that provided by the store. 
• Sanitise your hands when you enter the store, ideally with your own sanitiser or, if available, that provided by the store. Avoid contact with surfaces as much as possible. 
• Don’t delay while shopping or chat with neighbours/ friends/store staff. 
• Try to use only one hand (your non-dominant hand) to pick up goods and place into your bag/basket/trolley. This is to avoid contamination of your hands. 
• Make a contactless payment if possible, be vigilant when maintaining distance and avoid chatting to service desk/ check out staff. 
• Sanitise your hands on leaving the shop (if possible) and again when you get into your car, if you use a car. 

After Shopping:

Plan how you will deal with your shopping in advance of coming home. 

If shopping for a vulnerable person, leave the shopping on the doorstep, ring the bell or phone them and stand back while they collect it. 

• Wash your hands immediately when you return home. 
• Designate a cleared, disinfected area to sort out your shopping. 
• Prior to stocking your fridges and cupboards, wipe shelving with sanitiser and a paper towel, then discard. 
• Coronavirus can survive on hard surfaces, so wipe the outside of all canned/hard surface pack goods (tetra packs) with a paper towel/warm soapy water, sanitise (following the manufacturer’s guidance). Alternatively leave non-perishable foods in a safe place for 72 hours. 
• Remove outer food packaging and discard, being careful to limit handling of the inner packaging of items such as yoghurts. 
• Wipe down fridge and cupboard handles with sanitiser, a paper towel and discard. 
• Wash your hands again after you have unpacked and put your shopping bags away.