Albert Heijn supermarkets will open from 7-8am each weekday from next week onwards, in order to allow people who are over 70 years of age to do their groceries in safety. The grocery store will not be open to other people during these hours, NOS reports. Other supermarkets have been recommended to do the same by the Minister of Economic Affairs.
Special shopping hour will protect older people from the virus and allow them to get their groceries
Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs recommended supermarkets in the Netherlands to follow Belgian ones in implementing a special shopping hour for elderly people yesterday, and this morning they have agreed to do so. Not only will this reduce social contact for a group vulnerable to the coronavirus, it will also ensure that older people will be able to get the groceries that they need. That has been made difficult over the past week by our faves, the toilet roll hoarders.
Campaign set up to get healthcare workers some fresh bread (and other groceries)
Relatedly, there has been a campaign set up by Dutch actor Thomas Acda to make sure that healthcare workers get the groceries they need. Their long hours mean that often, supermarkets are closed when they go to work and their shelves are empty when they come back. Acda set up a campaign at his local supermarket, the Jumbo on Weseterstraat in Amsterdam, after a nurse tweeted that he had been unable to get fresh bread for five days. Now, healthcare workers in the area can send an email to the email address in Acda’s tweet below, and volunteers will make sure that their groceries are set aside for them.
Het is dus jumbowesterstraatactie@gmail.com geworden. https://t.co/7RXjt19hoy
— Thomas Acda (@thomasacda) March 18, 2020
And the Netherlands has enough toilet paper for ten years of pooping, according to the Prime Minister
IK. KOM. NIET. MEER. BIJ. pic.twitter.com/aos0KAYjfr
— Paul Peeters (@palpeet) March 19, 2020
Yesterday, Rutte made international news when he visited a supermarket in The Hague and assured fellow shoppers that the Netherlands had enough toilet paper to suffice for ten years of pooping. So, thank goodness for that.
What else could the Netherlands do to make grocery shopping better for the vulnerable in society? Let us know your ideas in the comments below.
Feature Image: pasja1000/Pixabay
