Researchers at the University of Amsterdam believe that supermarket trolleys and shopping baskets are not maintaining a safe distance between customers in accordance with anti-epidemic recommendations. According to the researchers, stores should use traffic lights to organize crowds rather than carts.
Experts from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) conducted a study to see if the obligation to use carts and baskets in stores in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure a safe distance is effective.
Dutch scientists are testing whether adhering to the use of carts and baskets is effective in combating COVID-19Reuters archive
‘They should use traffic lights’
During the search, they ordered the agents to wear sensors that recorded the distance between them. This allowed us to determine how often and for how long people get close to each other.
It turns out that customers with a shopping cart were as close to each other as customers without a shopping cart, and thus were in contact with other people in the store just as much.
Tessa Blanken of the UvA, reported by the daily “De Telegraaf”, notes that stores should use a different system. Instead of carts, says Blanken, they should use traffic lights to organize crowds.
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Main image source: Reuters archive
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