COVID UPDATE FOODSTUFFS | "Following the announcement from government that New Zealand is to return to Alert Level 4 from midnight 17 August, our supermarkets and integrated supply chain are prepared, and our stores have a good supply of groceries on the shelves. We are again asking customers to shop normal and let’s help each other get through this in a way that’s respectful to all New Zealanders.
Our top priority is to ensure the health and safety of our customers and teams during this time. Our teams are preparing to move alert levels from 11:59 on 17 August and we ask customers to be patient as we roll out and all get used to the various safety precautions required to keep everyone safe.
In the meantime, we encourage everyone nationwide to always scan the COVID tracer app, wear a mask when shopping, nominate one person in the household to shop and ask a friend or neighbour to shop on your behalf if you aren’t feeling well. As per previous Alert Level 4s, customers at our supermarkets will see some staff protection measures returning to their local store, including perspex protective screens at checkout, floor decals communicating the appropriate 2m physical distancing length, staff wearing masks and to maintain the social distancing measures, we will be limiting the number of customers in store at any one time.
While we wait for the result of the genome testing of the positive case, we are, like government, assuming the positive community case is the Delta variant, which is known to be a more transmissible strain of COVID-19 - and we ask all customers to please comply with store signage and staff direction to maintain physical distancing and strongly encourage customers to wear a mask when they are shopping with us.
At Alert Level 4 there is naturally some impact to how our stores will deliver for our customers and we ask our customers to:
- Scan the COVID-19 QR codes – download the NZ COVID-19 Tracer App and scan the QR Code at stores to enable quick contact tracing if needed and turn on Bluetooth tracking.
- Please nominate a single family or household member to shop – to comply with physical distancing recommendations, and to ensure there is a steady flow of traffic in and out of stores within our ‘one in, one out’ system, we are asking New Zealanders who shop in person to please shop alone. This is to ensure the number of people in-store at any one time is kept to a minimum – by leaving your loved ones at home you are helping to keep them safe.
- Wear masks when you leave home and while shopping – in line with Government’s direction, please leave home with a mask and we strongly encourage all customers to wear face masks when visiting our stores.
- #shopnormal – we continue to ask customers to not stockpile; this is so everyone has a fair shot at buying their grocery essentials. Please only buy what you need and be fair to others.We have plenty of stock, and to ensure there is plenty of product to go around, product limitations will be put in place on a store or product basis if the individual store determines there is a need.
- Utilise contactless payments – we encourage customers to use contactless payments such as payWave as another way of reducing contact between customers and staff. Help us keep you safe.
- Shop online (where available) – we have contactless online shopping delivery for customers who are self-isolating, vulnerable or unwell – we ask customers simply to let the team know in the comments section when the order is placed. We also ask customers who are feeling unwell to please notcome to the store to collect their Click & Collect order and to instead arrange a friend or family member to pick up your groceries for you.
- Respect each other– we are asking New Zealand to again support us as we work hard to continue meeting our goal of ensuring everyone has access to grocery essentials. We ask that all customers please remain patient and considerate of each other and staff during this time.
- Lastly, we would like to extend a warm thank you to our teams for, once again, stepping up and putting New Zealand’s needs ahead of their own.
We’ve done this before New Zealand – we can do this again. We’re in it together so let’s support each other as we come together in the fight against COVID-19 again."
