What Grocery and Food Retail Workers Need to Know about COVID-19
As a grocery or food retail worker, how can I protect myself and slow the spread?
As a grocery or food retail worker, potential sources of exposures include
close contact for prolonged periods of time with a customer with COVID-19 and
touching your nose, mouth, or eyes after handling items, cash, or merchandise
that customers with COVID-19 have touched.

Notify your supervisor and stay home if having symptoms (fever, cough, or shortness of breath).
Follow CDC-recommended steps if you are sick. You should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with healthcare providers and state and local health departments.
Follow CDC recommended precautions and notify your supervisor if you are well but have a sick family member at home with COVID-19.
Limit close contact with others and maintain a distance of at least 6 feet, when possible. 
Remind customers to maintain 6 feet distance from workers and other customers with verbal announcements on the loudspeaker and written signage.


CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Cloth face coverings may prevent people who don’t know they have the virus from transmitting it to others. These face coverings are not surgical masks or respirators and are not appropriate substitutes for them in workplaces where masks or respirators are recommended or required.
Encourage customers to use touchless payment options, when available. Minimize handling cash, credit cards, reward cards, and mobile devices, where possible.
When exchanging paper and coin money: 
Do not touch your face afterward.
Ask customers to place cash on the counter rather than directly into your hand.
Place money directly on the counter when providing change back to customers.
Wipe counter between each customer at checkout.


Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as workstations, cash registers, payment terminals, door handles, tables, and countertops on a routine basis. Follow the directions on the cleaning product’s label and clean hands afterwards.
Practice proper hand hygiene. This is an important infection control measure. With appropriate hand hygiene, gloves are not necessary for workers who are not involved in food preparation. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol can be used, but not as a substitute for cleaning hands with soap and water.
Key times to clean hands include: 
Before, during, and after preparing food
Before eating food
After using the toilet
After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
After putting on, touching, or removing cloth face coverings


Additional workplace-specific times to clean hands include: 
Before and after work shifts and periodically throughout shift
Before and after work breaks
After touching money or objects that have been handled by customers, such as reusable grocery bags
Before putting on and taking off disposable gloves when performing food prep


Avoid contact with body fluids.
Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Use tissues when you cough, sneeze, or touch your face. Throw used tissues in the trash.