Supermarkets, Wholesale | In these municipalities, there are mandatory dressings in the grocery store:

Last week, the municipality of Lørenskog introduced an indoor bandage in public places, regardless of whether it is kept one meter away or not. Starting Friday this week, the township of Ullensaker will follow. And they are not the only municipalities.

– Although most people are infected by people they know, we see an increase in cases where the route of infection is unknown and may have occurred in public spaces. Often it is not known in advance when it suddenly became difficult to maintain a distance of one meter from others, and therefore we say that you should always wear a mask, says municipal chief doctor Einar Kristian Borud to the municipality’s website .

There are also mandatory bandages at Nittedal. However, other municipalities have introduced bandages in shops and other closed public places where it is not possible to respect the subway rule. Among them are Oslo, Lillestrøm, Bærum, Drammen and Bergen.

The online newspaper wants an overview of what applies in all municipalities. What applies in your municipality? Send an email to: [email protected].

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I want the same rules

The main organization, Virke, doesn’t think there are such different rules.

– It is perceived as something demanding to relate to a set of rules that changes every time a municipal boundary is crossed. It reduces respect for measurements and becomes very confusing for both customers and employees, says Ivar Horneland Kristensen, CEO of Virke.

He believes that we must have national rules that are possible to comply with, only with the necessary differences between municipalities with high infection pressure and low infection pressure.

– When municipalities decide to introduce the use of masks, the actual practice must be done equally in all municipalities that have it, he says.

Kine Søyland, communications manager for Norgesgruppen, which owns Kiwi and Meny, among others, says they want common rules.

– We see an advantage if the guidelines are as similar as possible from municipality to municipality, and we want common rules. It’s easier to relate to customers and employees, he says.

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However, they are aware that the decision is made by the authorities and are related to the current norms and guidelines for the use of masks that the authorities propose.

– If there was a requirement for bandages in more municipalities than at present, we will of course adapt to that, says Søyland.

Ask for better communication

Harald Kristiansen, communications director at Coop Norge, also wants clearer rules.

– We understand that some municipalities with higher infection pressure have stricter infection control measures and, of course, we follow local guidelines. But the fact that the guidelines are practiced differently in different municipalities makes it demanding to communicate and explain the situation to both employees and customers, he says.

Kristiansen explains that they have experienced that some municipalities communicate the same message differently. If there are two neighboring municipalities that have the same rules, it is not always so clear.

– It has confused both employees and customers. We want municipalities with the same rules to communicate it equally, he says.

However, he points out that they feel all the advice and guidelines provided by the authorities.

– It is the health authorities that have the knowledge and competence to develop guidelines for infection control, he says.

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However, supermarket chains will not respond directly if they expect more municipalities to introduce clogging in stores.

– It probably depends on how the infection situation develops. We must focus on what we can do, encourage customers to use all opening hours, keep distance between them, and use disinfectants before and after the shopping trip, says Kristiansen.

“We shouldn’t speculate on that. We relate to what is decided in these areas,” says Søyland at Norgesgruppen.

Doesn’t replace distance

Kristensen in Virke says that even if you wear a mask in stores, this does not replace the need to stay away from others.

“In some situations where it is impossible to stay a meter away from others, a mask or visor is recommended as an additional measure to prevent infection of people with covid-19 without symptoms when there is a greater spread of the infection,” says, and adds:

– Therefore, we would have liked to see the regulation made so that this was a measure that the municipality could implement. Yes the pressure of the infection was particularly great.

• Kristensen believes that the claim should include the following:
• When the employee is sitting at the checkout, standing at the fresh food counter or refilling items, please do not wear a mask, as you can keep a distance of at least one meter.
• When the employee has to help clients in situations where the distance requirement cannot be met by one meter, a bandage should be used.
• Clients should be instructed to always wear a mask when crowded and metro cannot be met.

Will consider controlled entry

Calle Hägg, public relations and communications manager for Rema 1000, has not responded to Nettavisen’s question about whether they are open to the possibility of a bandage in various municipalities and what they might think about it.

However, it points out that its stores follow the infection control rules that apply in general.

– The same rules, guidelines and local orders of the authorities apply to us as to the rest of society, this also applies to municipal measures. In general, both customers and employees are good at keeping sufficient distance in the store, he says.

However, Rema 1000 will consider introducing additional measures if they see that there may be so many people in the store at the same time that it will be difficult to maintain a sufficient distance.

– If there is a possibility of congestion in the store, controlled entry is a measure that we have used before and used as needed, says Hägg and adds:

– If you still find it difficult to keep your distance during periods, especially in some of the smaller stores, our employees wear face masks according to the guidelines of the authorities.

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The online newspaper has also contacted the Norwegian Health Directorate to find out whether it will be relevant to introduce a bandage in stores in all municipalities, but has not yet received a response.