Online grocery shopping is recommended these days, as this is one of the best ways to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and stay safe in these troubled times. For grocery shopping in supermarkets or other stores, check the short safety guide below.

Several movement restrictions have come into force in Romania on March 25, as the president announced a nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19. Thus, people are now allowed to go out only for work, to buy groceries or for a few other reasons (more details are available here). The same rules also apply to those who have reached the age of 65, with the only difference that they can go out only in the 11:00-13:00 interval.

Thus, buying groceries online can be a safer and more comfortable option under these new rules. However, as the demand has increased these days, some deliveries may take longer than usual.

Here’s a list of retailers that sell groceries online:

Carrefour has an online supermarket that sells a wide variety of food and non-food items, from vegetables and dairy products to personal hygiene and cleaning products, and even goodies for pets. The retailer makes deliveries in Bucharest, Ilfov, Ploiesti and Prahova Valley, with no delivery fee for orders of more than RON 300. However, deliveries are currently unavailable for products that require transportation in vehicles equipped with refrigeration installations (such as fresh or frozen meat), according to information on Carrefour’s website. Shoppers can also use the Bringo delivery app to order products from Carrefour.

Auchan also delivers various categories of products at home, with no delivery fee for orders of over RON 200. However, the retailer announced on its website that it has increased the processing time to up to seven working days, due to the high volume of orders during this period.

Kaufland has a partnership with the on-demand courier service Glovo for home deliveries. Thus, those who want to purchase groceries from Kaufland have to download and install the Glovo app, make an account and then click on the Kaufland section. The service is available in Bucharest, Constanța, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Craiova, Sibiu, Arad, Brașov, Ploiești, Pitești, Oradea, Brăila and Galați, according to information on Kaufland.ro.

Mega Image is yet another retailer with an Online Supermarket section on its website. There is no delivery fee for orders with a value of over RON 250 but the retailer announced that, to limit the contact between shoppers and couriers during this period, cash payment is no longer available (thus customers can only pay by card). Shoppers can also order products from Mega Image on the eMAG platform (the Supermarket section).

Cora also makes home deliveries to shoppers from Bucharest, Constanta, Cluj, and Ploiesti (and surrounding areas).

Electro-IT retailers Altex and MediaGalaxy are also selling water, coffee, soft drinks or beer on their websites.

For those who go out to buy supplies from supermarkets, hypermarkets or other grocery stores, the Romanian authorities have compiled a list of recommendations to prevent the infection with COVID-19:

Before going shopping:

- Make a shopping list to cut the time spent in the supermarket

- Avoid rush hours (morning/evening) and crowded public transportation

- Make sure you have: tissues, disinfectant gel (alternatively, gloves)

- Leave tissues and disinfectant gel outside your front door for when you return from shopping

- Make sure you follow the main safety rules: wash your hands frequently; disinfect often the surfaces with which you come into contact; cough and sneeze in your elbow or in a tissue; avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth without washing your hands first

During shopping:

- Touch the shopping cart only after wiping it down with disinfectant wipes or if you wear gloves

- Maintain a safe distance of 1-2 m from other people

- Avoid crowded aisles

- At the cash registers, keep at least 1 m between you and the other shoppers (you can put your shopping cart between you and the person in front)

- Avoid cash payment and pay with your card or smartphone instead; if you do pay cash, disinfect your hands as soon as possible after that

- Avoid getting your phone close to your face or ears

After shopping:

- Use the disinfectant (or sanitary alcohol) and tissues left outside your front door to disinfect your hands, door handle, phone, keys immediately after closing the door

- Don’t take your groceries to the kitchen or other places inside the house (you can leave them at the entrance)

- Use a towel and disinfectant (or sanitary alcohol) to disinfect the surfaces of the products you’ve purchased before taking them inside; do not spray substances on fruits or vegetables – just wash them very well

- With a towel soaked in disinfectant (or sanitary alcohol) clean the outside of the shopping bag(s), as well as the outside of the wallet used and/or bank cards

newsroom@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: ID176139244 © Laurentiu  Iordache/Dreamstime.com)