I've never read such a load of selfish ignorant bollocks in my life. Supermarkets are NOT a source of entertainment, they are providing an essential service and millions of us have absolutely no choice but to enter them - on our own - because we need to eat.
Obviously we hope we will encounter as few other people as possible, who hopefully are also observing social distancing, because we understand that the virus is most likely to be transmitted wherever there is a greater concentration of people. My heart sinks when I enter a crowded shop but when at least part of that crowd is made up of several family groups or couples, it sinks even more. I totally appreciate there will be a minority in that category like the lady upthread with allergies and mobility issues whose husband's dyslexia means he cannot safely check labels. I also understand the challenges of trying to do a big shop in one go (to reduce trips) if you don't have a car (though one half of a couple could wait outside to carry bags, as could the apparently useless men with non driving partners who can't be trusted to shop on their own). However it's quite clear - and some of the replies on this thread back this up - that a significant minority care only about themselves. When I went shopping yesterday and was sat in the car putting my mask on, a family of 2 adults and 3 kids piled out of the car opposite - the kids all wearing heelies for God's sake - and once inside, were zooming about without any attempt from the parents to keep them close. There's no excuse for that right now, none given the possibility of them knocking into someone, which I've seen at least twice before.
This isn't about individuals shrugging off the risk of contracting COVID......it's about catching it and passing it on to someone far more vulnerable than you before you know you have it. Or catching it and passing it on to someone else who may not be too badly affected but whose incapacity and isolation means that others further down the line suffer and are placed at risk, and not just from COVID. For example, anyone providing support for, say, a very elderly housebound relative who has no-one else, or any essential worker being taken out of action for the duration - nurses, doctors, paramedics, teachers, care workers etc. This isn't described as a public health issue for nothing FFS. Simple fact is that more potential encounters caused by people being unnecessarily out means more spreading about.
And remember this ..... anyone whingeing and whining because little Johnny apparently likes to make moo noises at the milk or whatever, or because they can't bear to be parted from their beloved other half for all of thirty minutes, you have a choice because it's NOT essential that you go into the supermarket en masse. And you have, or should have, a responsibility to the community you live in. Those who work in supermarkets for a living don't have that choice - other than resigning I suppose. They're in there, for hours at a time, several times a week, by necessity and must surely be shit scared for a large part of their working day because they don't have a choice about being in an often crowded public space. We should ALL (with a few genuine exceptions) be doing our level best to minimise the number of times and the length of time we encounter others - for everyone's sake.