Is this normal behaviour in supermarkets now?

[Makeitgoaway]

Until now we've been making do with what we had plus deliveries from small local firms but had to bite the bullet and DH did a big supermarket trip yesterday.

There's a particular nut he's very fond of which appeared to be out of stock, but he was pleased to find the last two packets at the back of the shelf, just as he realised a couple nearby were looking for the same thing, so he offered them one of the packs. Apparently they declined in horror at the idea of taking something he'd handled.

He was happy, he got his 2 packs, but how do they think they got onto the shelf without anyone touching them? Were they particularly cautious or is everyone thinking like this now?. He thought he was being polite/helpful but they obviously didn't see it that way. The new rules are one thing but how long until we all get used to the new etiquette? Or even agree on what it is?!

[Zaphodsotherhead]

And yes, I sanitise the chip and pin machine every time someone needs to enter their PIN.

[Zaphodsotherhead]

Water that's true, but I've been trained not to touch my face on the till anyway (money is FILTHY). And are people washing their hands as thoroughly as they should be when they take off their knitted gloves? Knitting being 90% holes held together with wool? Or do they have the illusion that they don't need to - they've had gloves on?

[Vanhi]

Gloves are not some miraculous, magic anti-virus tool. Too many people think they are and this is part of the problem

They've started wearing gloves in my local corner shop. Staff think they're great and commented on how by the end of the day they're black. Well yes, they will be, and you'll just be spreading that around. I used to work in archives and it's precisely because of this thinking that we rarely used gloves. If we did, they were to protect the wearer rather than anything or anyone else. They're useful if you've got cuts or abrasions on your hands that you want covered. They also might mean you're more aware when you touch your face.

Just keep washing your hands and try not to touch your face. You can't stop other people from touching stuff.

[DogInATent]

I'm glad I'm not the only one amused by the numbers of people who insist on very pointedly/obviously wearing gloves/masks and yet have no idea of how to use that PPE properly or effectively.

[deydododatdodontdeydo]

I'm not convince gloves are pointless.
You're minimising your exposure, it's not about eliminating everything.
Lets say when you finish your shop your gloves and all your items have virions on them. You remove your gloves, pay for your shop and head home.
Nothing transferred to purse, you don't wear them to touch car keys or drive.
At home you can either wear more gloves to put things away, or just wash your hands after.
I think they definitely help if you're not being daft and scratching your nose in them.

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

So would most people get close enough to take something out of a stranger's hand?

I would if it was for the last Magnum!

[Flaxmeadow]

Anything you put in your basket may have been touched by several people with bare hands.

But then why raise the risk again by handling something you know another customer has touched as well? You can't eliminate all risk but by not touching it you would be reducing the risk.

Some things in supermarkets probably won't have been touched as much as other things since they left the supplier because they're in big crates on wheels, milk for example, or have been put on the shelves in cardboard trays. But it's still not a good idea to pick things up and put them back on the shelf but then it's very easy to forget and do it by mistake. I've done it myself and I'm sure many others have. I've found myself buying something I didn't really want because of it

Gloves can be effective obviously, that's why NHS staff wear them, but only if you use them correctly. They're not just about preventing you catching the virus but also about preventing you from passing the virus onto others.

I probably wouldn't have touched the nuts either. Not just because of the risk to me but because I shop for vulnerable and elderly people and so have to think about them as well.

It's a minefield in supermarkets because it's the place most people are now most likely to catch the virus. They probably didnt mean to be rude, it's just that people are stressed out OP.

[Emerald89]

The chance of you catching the virus from indirectly handling food products is pretty low. Germany has done some pretty impressive contact tracing work and they haven't found a single case of catching COVID19 from door handles or other inert surfaces even though the virus can survive on such surfaces for days. I suspect the viral load simply isn't high enough, plus if you wash your hands frequently and before you eat you should be fine?!

[ravenmum]

@PinkSparklyPussyCat I'd put up a fight 😂

[Flaxmeadow]

Germany has done some pretty impressive contact tracing work and they haven't found a single case of catching COVID19 from door handles or other inert surfaces even though the virus can survive on such surfaces for days

But then this begs the question why is it so contagious that people are catching it even when social distancing outside their homes? If a door to a shop has people touching the metal plate or handle constantly, then someone touches their mouth or eyes then I would have thought there would be a big risk there? Thank goodness so many shops have automatic doors

I suspect the viral load simply isn't high enough,

I think this would be called viral dose? Viral load is the amount someone infected has in their body.

[SlothMama]

They overreacted, those goods would have been handled alot in the supply chain. I'm careful to not touch my face and wash my hands thoroughly after I've put my shopping away.

[TheSquitz]

I would have happily accepted the bag from your DH, but then again I don't spray my shopping with disinfectant when I get home or put my mail into quarantine either.

[okiedokieme]

Whilst I don't handle products unnecessarily, I do have to check ingredients, as many do, as dd is veggie (those with allergies need to check even closer!). Assume anything on the shelf has been handled basically. Obviously bulk items like flour cannot be washed if you are being ultra cautious but they are less likely to be picked up and put back than sauces etc

[Alsohuman]

One of the funniest posts I’ve ever seen on MN was someone saying they wouldn’t buy a cucumber from a particular supermarket because they didn’t seal them in plastic. Cue a stream of posts pointing out how many hands would have touched it before the plastic went on it.

I’d have taken the nuts.

[sansgender]

I think people are really on edge at the moment and not thinking straight. Yesterday I was sat in my garden and a mail man tried to leave a parcel for a neighbour with me. I just kind of freaked out and didn't know what to do so they took it back to the depot. I then went to the shop and started freaking out because the cashier was wearing gloves, he was handling cash and then started touching all my shopping completely unnecessarily. If I had time to think about it I would have taken the neighbours mail, and I realised I would probably need to disinfect my shopping just as much as I did before before it's probably been handled by several people already.

[OiyeaOiyea]

Gloves are pointless. The virus doesn't sink into your skin. The virus can live just as long on gloves as it does on skin, so touching something with corona-gloves or corona-hands - six of one, half a dozen.

[deydododatdodontdeydo]

Gloves are pointless. The virus doesn't sink into your skin. The virus can live just as long on gloves as it does on skin, so touching something with corona-gloves or corona-hands - six of one, half a dozen.

Unless you can wash your hands between touching things and touching your face, gloves aren't pointless.
Having said that, I don't use them myself.

[Jux]

I'd have taken a pack from him with gratitude and pleasure.

DH and I carry a very small bottle of hand gel whenever we're out; supermarkets generally have spray and paper towels for cleaning hte trolley handles so could easily clean ourselves and the packet.

I think it's a little precious if you feel so threatened by the virus not to carry hand gel with you, tbh.

[Mrsjayy]

I have pocket handgel I just use that before going in. I just had a little panic I read people were using latex gloves I assumed. Disposable plastic ones latex Is an allergen to many including me the thought of people using them and touching food on shelves made me a bit sweaty !

[Watertorture]

I think it's a little precious if you feel so threatened by the virus not to carry hand gel with you, tbh
Yep, because it's been super easy to get hold of hand gel hadn't it

[Rhubardandcustard]

I can’t help but pick up items and look and read the ingredients as I have coeliac disease- I always check, even stuff I’ve bought before as they sometimes change the recipe. So some of us have no choice but to handle items.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Missing the point spectacularly, but I won't be able to relax until I know what the mystical, coveted nut was. Pecans? Macadamias? @Makeitgoaway please oblige!

[ArtieFufkinPolymerRecords]

People are saying you shouldn't touch something if you're not going to buy it, but what about checking dates or choosing the item you want, I'm not going to buy the pack of meat that's on top or the front loaf if there is fresher stuff further back.

[whitedaisies]

The virus doesn’t Leach out of the skin and the surface of gloves can just as easily become contaminated as bare skin

Yes yes yes! The couple's loss is OP's husbands gain

[Makeitgoaway]

It's the flavouring on the nuts he's particularly keen on Jesus, sea salt and black pepper, I think.