COVID-19 precautions taken by local stores, what you need to know

daniApril 5, 2020

12 minutes read

While grocery stores across the nation continue to provide products and services Americans need, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to make changes to how and when the products are delivered. SJO Daily put together information from most locally-run grocery stores in East Central Illinois so that consumers can stay up-to-date on when the stores are open and procedures put in place to help limit COVID-19 exposure.

St. Joseph IGA

Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week
Shopping for elderly or at-risk 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Deli Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Grocery Pickup on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 20 items or less (excluding alcohol and tobacco products, place order via phone 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., Curbside pickup 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. (call store upon arrival), phone 217.469.2311

Dollar General

First hour of operations each day be dedicated solely for the shopping needs of senior customers, who are one of the groups most vulnerable to the COVID-19 coronavirus;
All stores plan to close one hour earlier than current close times to allow employees to clean and re-stock store shelves; clean and re-stock store shelves, as well as for their health and wellbeing. Stores will continue to maintain current opening hours.

Casey’s

Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Team members have been operating with heightened attention to actions like store cleaning and more frequent handwashing. This includes being diligent with fundamental actions like increasing the frequency of cleaning food prep equipment, counters, restrooms and fuel pumps as well as other high-touch surfaces throughout our stores;
Pizza orders remain available for carryout and delivery;
Encouraging all delivery and carryout pizza guests to complete payment online to reduce contact at checkout
Continuing to provide pre-packaged, fresh food items and serving pizza slices directly to guests;
Temporarily discontinuing the use of refillable mugs and cups in stores, Disposable cups are available

Schnuck’s

Illinois Schnuck’s stores are open from 6 AM–10 PM, reserving the first hour of each day – from 6 AM to 7 AM – for shopping by seniors aged 60 and above, and for those who are most at risk of COVID-19.
Limiting the number of customers inside stores by asking that there be only one shopper per household when possible. They also recognize that there are situations where it is simply not possible – be it a single parent who has no childcare options, an elderly customer who needs assistance from a friend or relative, or a customer with other needs. Store teams are being asked to exercise judgment in these situations, in order to ensure that all customers are able to complete their shopping trip, while also balancing that with the need to increase the practice of safe social distancing;
Schnucks customers will notice additional safety measures being implemented across stores. Temporary window panels will be installed at checklanes, pharmacy counters, and operating service counters. These plexiglass barriers will help provide an additional layer of protection for both employees and customers.
Currently not accepting exchanges on certain items including, but not limited to, water, toilet paper, canned goods, and antibacterial products: continue to offer exchanges or returns on products that do not meet freshness or quality expectations;
Currently not issuing rainchecks at this time, due to supplier shortages, and because they cannot guarantee that advertised items will be in stock;
Schnucks in-store retail pharmacies will be open 6 AM – 6 PM on Mondays AND Thursdays so that seniors and those with underlying health conditions can also visit the pharmacy when shopping during the 6 – 7 AM hour. These pharmacies will observe their regular hours all other days;
Schnucks is temporarily suspending the sale of lottery tickets at courtesy centers and will also no longer cash winning lottery tickets that are in excess of $300. Customers wishing to purchase lottery tickets may continue to use the self-service vending machines. Customers who wish to cash winning lottery tickets for amounts greater than $300 should check with their state’s lottery for redemption options.
Offers curbside pickup

County Market, Harvest Market and ValuCheck

County Market and Harvest Market shopping hours: 6:00am-11:00pm.;
ValuCheck shopping hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.;
ValuCheck Special shopping hours for seniors and those at risk, 7am to 9am;
Placing all grocery orders in single use plastic or paper bags. Any bags brought from home cannot be used for the time being;
Cleaning commonly used areas more often, including cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, conveyor belts and food service counters, and cleaning shelves when restocking products;
Sanitizing restrooms more frequently and restocking with supplies, including soap, paper towels and hand sanitizer;
Adding extra hand sanitizer at cashier stations, food service counters, and all Pharmacy and coffee locations;
For customers who utilize on-line ordering services, ensuring the same sanitary guidelines are being followed;
Continuing to provide customers with free disinfectant wipes at store entrances to sanitize their shopping carts or baskets;
Wiping down shopping carts, baskets and equipment;
Partnering with suppliers to replenish high-demand preparedness products;
Encouraging associates to closely monitor their health and well-being;
Asking associates to stay home if they, or someone in their household, are sick;
Encouraging customers to follow the appropriate steps to reduce the spread of the virus.

Ruler Foods

Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Associates can wear protective masks & gloves; working with government officials to make these available to grocery workers – after healthcare workers.
Cleaning commonly used areas more often, including cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, food service counters and shelves.
Install plexiglass partitions over the next several weeks at checklanes;
All stores are receiving floor decals to promote physical distancing at checklanes and other counters.
Adjusted store operating hours to allow more time for associates to rest, clean and replenish inventory.

Walmart

Walmart U.S. stores have adjusted operating hours to 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Stores that open later than 7 a.m. have continued their regular starting hours. Associates restock the shelves for customers while continuing to clean and sanitize the store during overnight hours. While the store hours change for customers, associates will continue to have access to their regular scheduled shifts and full hours;
From March 24 through April 28, Walmart stores will host an hour-long senior shopping event every Tuesday for customers aged 60 and older. This will start one hour before the store opens. Pharmacies and Vision Centers will also be open during this time;
Stores will have limits for customers in certain categories including paper products, milk, eggs, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, water, diapers, wipes, formula and baby food;
Auto Care Centers are temporarily shut down;
Vision Centers will operate on their normal schedule, providing essential services only such as glasses repair and helping customers pick up existing orders;
Walmart has started installing plexiglass barriers (sneeze guards) at pharmacy lanes (both Walmart and Sam’s Club) and will install these guards at the regular Walmart registers;
Shopping carts are sanitized often using the Hart brand two gallon sprayer kits;
Installed floor decals in stores at both the entrances and in checkout lanes, making it easier for customers to judge the proper social distance from each other;
Takes the temperatures of associates as they report to work in stores, clubs and facilities, as well as asking them some basic health screening questions;
Made masks or gloves available to those who want to wear them;
Will limit the number of customers who can be in a store at once. Stores will now allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly 20 percent of a store’s capacity.To manage this restriction, the associates at a store will mark a queue at a single-entry door (in most cases the Grocery entrance) and direct arriving customers there, where they will be admitted one-by-one and counted;
Will institute one-way movement through aisles in a number of stores, using floor markers and direction from associates;
continue to put signage inside stores to remind customers of the need to maintain social distancing – especially in lines;
once customers check out, they will be directed to exit through a different door than they entered, which should help lessen the instances of people closely passing each other;
Supplying associates with masks and gloves;
Offers curbside pickup.

Meijer

Close overnight at 10 p.m. local time, open each morning at 8 a.m. local time;
Meijer stores and pharmacies will provide dedicated shopping times for senior citizens and customers with chronic health conditions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 a.m. local time.
Meijer stores and pharmacies will provide dedicated shopping times for essential service workers and Meijer team members on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-8 a.m. local time.
Asking customers to limit the number of shoppers per trip, while understanding that some customers may need additional assistance;
Implementing processes to monitor the number of customers in stores. This includes managing the number of customers shopping to support proper social distancing practices;
Conducting daily health screenings and temperature checks of team members as they arrive at the store;
Completing installation of protective plexiglass shields at all check lanes and pharmacies in its 248 supercenters and stores;
Adding signage and broadcast announcements inside the store educating customers about proper social distancing;
Temporarily suspending the weekly sales ad beginning April 12 to decrease customer count inside the store;
Marked checkout lanes to keep customers six feet apart;
Offers curbside pickup.

Target

Close at 9 p.m. local time;
Reserve the first hour of shopping each Tuesday and Wednesday to support vulnerable guests, including the elderly and those with underlying health concerns;
Provide employees with “high-quality, disposable face masks and gloves at the beginning of every shift, strongly encourage teams to wear them while working;
Installed plexiglass partitions at checkout lanes;
Limiting the number of people in stores depending on the size of the store;
in addition to rigorous cleaning routines already in place, introducing new measures to keep stores clean;
Team member stationed at store entrances to make sure carts are clean and available in an orderly fashion;
Adding signs at the front of stores and floor decals at the checklanes to maintain safe distances between guests as they shop;
Checklanes will be cleaned after each guest transaction, and dedicated team members will guide guests in line while that happens;
Rotate the use of checklanes to allow those not in use to be deep-cleaned; checklanes and touchscreens at least every 30 minutes.
Target will stop accepting in-store product returns and exchanges for the next three weeks—r that expires during that period will still be honored three weeks past the holding period;
Refrain from handling reusable bags, asking guests who bring them in to bag their own items at checkout. Target paper and plastic bags will be available and they’ll waive any local fees during this time.
Offers curbside pickup.

Home Depot

Close daily at 6 p.m. to allow for time to clean and restock shelves. The stores will open at normally scheduled times;
Will limit the number of customers inside its stores at any one time to promote social distancing;
Will also not hold its annual spring promotions to help prevent high-traffic levels into its stores during the warmer months.
Added social distancing markers at its counters and posted signage across its stores;
Makes regular public address announcements about social distancing for its customers;
Home installation services have also been limited to only essential maintenance and repairs in some markets;
Donating all N95 masks to hospitals, health care providers and first responders;
Distributing thermometers to associates in stores and distribution centers and asking them to perform health checks before reporting to work;
Offers order online, pickup in store.

Lowe’s

Closing all stores at 7 p.m. daily to ensure additional time to replenish essential products and thoroughly clean and sanitize stores daily;
Making masks and gloves available to all associates in the workplace who want them
All N95 medical masks were placed on a stop sale and are being donated to hospitals to protect frontline healthcare workers, along with other personal protective equipment for first responders
Developed an app to implement a new customer limit protocol, available now on associates’ handheld devices. Each store manager can now monitor foot traffic and limit entrance based on CDC and local guidelines;
Enhancing social distancing protocols by adding dedicated social distancing ambassadors who will be responsible for monitoring customer flow in garden centers and front-end areas and enforce customer limits to allow proper social distancing;
Made substantial updates to store floor layouts to further support the CDC’s guidelines for social distancing, such as opening up aisle space by removing displays;
Installed customized Plexiglass shields at all points of sale to protect cashiers and customer service associates working the return desk;
Increased third-party cleaning shifts to provide incremental cleaning in stores, beyond already enhanced daily cleaning efforts;
Buy Online, Pick Up in Store

Menards

New stores hours of 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday;
Will not allow anyone into its stores under the age of 16, as well as any pets; those individuals that look under the age of 16 will be asked for identification;the store is making an exemption to the pet ban for service dogs.

Sam’s Club

Moved operating hours to Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m to allow employees more time to restock and clean its warehouses;
Prescheduled Club Pickup orders will still be available for pickup starting at 7 a.m.;
Offer early shopping hours from 7 to 9 a.m. for seniors, those with disabilities or compromised immune systems on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Pharmacies and optical centers will be open during those hours;
During those special senior hours, Sam’s Club will also allow customers to pick up orders without leaving their car;
Associates are having their temperatures taken as they report to work in stores, clubs and facilities;
Supplying associates with masks and gloves;
Limiting the number of people in the store to 50.

Walgreens

Open 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. (local times) during weekdays until further notice. These store hours will also apply to weekends, while pharmacy hours on weekends will largely remain the same.;
For Walgreens locations with a 24-hour drive-thru pharmacy, while the front of store will close at 9 p.m., the pharmacy drive-thru will remain open, as it always has, for 24 hours to assist customers and patients with their prescriptions.
Walgreens stores will open at 8 a.m., with the full hour from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. dedicated to senior citizens. This hour is also available to their caregivers and immediate families may also visit the store during this time.
Additionally, they will offer senior day discount all day on Tuesdays during this time. Customers age 55 and older will receive 30 percent off regularly priced Walgreens brands and 20 percent off regularly priced national brands.
Providing face covers to pharmacy staff and other store team members, as well as distribution centers as another preventive measure to help minimize the spread of COVID-19;
Installing protective plexiglass shields in select markets;
All stores have in-store signage and other markings that begin six feet away from checkout and pharmacy counters, and are spaced in six-foot increments to indicate where customers should stand while waiting.
Stores have continually increased the frequency of daily cleaning procedures, with additional deep cleaning at all stores. Additional hand sanitizer for team members, as well as customers, is also being provided;
Health screenings, including temperature checks, are being conducted for team members at Walgreens distribution centers, centralized facilities and other select locations;
Walgreens and Postmates have expanded on-demand delivery to now service consumers nationwide*. With this expansion, consumers can get health and wellness items and other household essentials and convenience products they need delivered to them.
More than 60 front-end products are currently available for purchase at Walgreens pharmacy drive-thru locations nationwide, including prescriptions and medical supplies, cleaning supplies and sanitizers, select over the counter products such as cough/cold, pain/fever and immunity support, select grocery items, infant formula/adult nutrition, first aid items and paper goods.
Walgreens has waived delivery fees for all eligible prescriptions on next-day delivery at this time. Same-day prescription delivery is also available in many cities across the nation. Walgreens is also offering free delivery on any purchase on Walgreens.com, with no minimum purchase required.

CVS

CVS Pharmacy offers free delivery for prescriptions and other items;
CVS’s MinuteClinic is no longer accepting walk-in patients; all patients must make an appointment on-line on the MinuteClinic website or via the CVS Pharmacy app. Patients making an appointment will be pre-screened outside of the clinic to determine if it is the right site of care for their symptoms;
CVS is also offering video visits where patients can be evaluated for many conditions, including symptoms of coronavirus;
All of its store employees have received protective masks, gloves and hand sanitizer;
The company has hourly protocols in place for cleaning hard surfaces and more frequent cleaning of commonly handled items. Disinfecting wipe stations have been placed at the front of each store for customers;
CVS has floor markers at the pharmacy counter;
CVS is providing protective panels for its pharmacy counters and front-store checkout stations. Rollout began last week and the panels will be in place at all stores by next week;
Contact the CVS Pharmacy to learn if your prescriptions are eligible 90‐day Rx supply & early refills.

Aldi

Open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, ALDI stores will open at 8:30 a.m. and reserve the first hour of business for vulnerable shoppers. This includes senior citizens, expectant mothers and those with underlying health concerns;
Sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE) for employees to use, upon request;
Installed signage and floor decals in stores to remind employees and customers to maintain a safe distance – at least 6 feet – from one another;
Temporary checklane panels are being installed;
Increasing the frequency of cart cleaning throughout the day.
Suspending the practice of placing customers’ scanned items into a different shopping cart at checkout.