Consumers complained of crowding outlets, especially in medium "supermarket" outlets on accounting funds, with the failure to apply standards for safe distances between dealers as one of the precautionary measures to confront the spread of the new "Corona" virus among individuals, especially in closed and crowded areas.

Merchants and officials attributed the outlets selling the causes of crowding and overcrowding in the stores to the reduction of working hours in most of the outlets to keep pace with the national sterilization program, in addition to the difficulty of preventing shoppers from entering the outlets, especially among women and the elderly, with some outlets going to take advantage of the growth in demand to raise sales rates and distribute stocks Goods, especially with the tendency to request large quantities from suppliers to outlets.

"Super Market"

In detail, the consumer, Mohamed Ziad, said: “He was forced to shop from a (supermarket) to buy his family’s needs, despite the presence of a large crowd inside the store, in addition to the crowds of shoppers on the accounting funds, to pay quickly for purchases before entering the period of national sterilization.”

The consumer, Abdullah Badr added: “A number of sales outlets are not concerned with regulating the entry of shoppers, and applying the standards of safe distances between individuals, even even at a distance of one meter.” Noting that “crowding and the absence of safe distances expose shoppers to great risks in contracting the virus.”

The consumer, Naglaa Mahmoud, indicated that she “suffered from the continued crowding and crowding in outlets at great rates, especially after large outlets reduced their working hours, finally, which raises the possibilities of spreading the Corona virus among individuals.”

The consumer, Amina Salem, said: “It suffers from a very close distance between them and other shoppers in a large number of large and medium sales outlets, as a result of the severe crowding, which made the commitment to a safe distance between consumers a very difficult issue, requiring the sales outlets to coordinate the entry of shoppers with marking On the ground, it spells out safe distances. ”

The consumer, Ahmed Ibrahim added: “There is a great crowding in large and medium selling outlets, which led to severe convergence in the distances between shoppers, and thus the lack of a safe distance to ensure the health and safety of all shoppers.”

The consumer, Ali Abdullah, agreed with the necessity to adhere to a safe distance between shoppers to maintain the health and safety of all shoppers and port officials and employees, noting that he had gone, during the past days, to a number of different sales outlets, and was surprised by very crowded at payment boxes, and throughout the store itself , And failure to adhere to safe distances between consumers.

Port officials and relevant government authorities called for intervention to protect consumers.

Legalize entry

For its part, Dubai Economy directed, lastly, all the outlets of sale and service in the Emirate of Dubai, by applying the conditions of safe distance between customers and customers with a minimum of one and a half meters, by placing indicative signs on the ground, including waiting queues for payment and reception. She explained that inspection campaigns will be implemented to verify compliance with this circular in the markets.

For its part, the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi confirmed that it is following up with sales outlets to reduce the number of consumers inside the outlets and legalize the entry process in cases of large numbers of shoppers.

She explained that she had received complaints from consumers about not committing to safe distances inside the outlets, especially at payment boxes.

Safe distances

In turn, the general manager of the Emirates Cooperative Society, Mohammed Youssef Al Khaja, explained that «(the association) works to apply safe distances between shoppers, prevent crowding inside the outlets, and direct some shoppers who cannot enter the ports, in order to keep from crowding, to take advantage of delivery services for orders Without having to wait for long periods. ”

He pointed out that «some outlets may find it difficult to organize, or prevent shoppers from entering the outlets, which in turn causes the accumulation of accounting funds, and the absence of safe distances, in addition to that some outlets may find it an appropriate opportunity to increase sales and dispose of stocks of different commodities, especially with Most outlets resort to obtaining large quantities of different goods from supply companies, finally, to keep pace with the growing consumer demand. ”

For his part, said the director of sales in one of the retail centers, Dibal Shrun, that «congestion in the outlets is due to the reduction in working hours in most stores, with the implementation of the national sterilization program, which made most consumers crowded in the outlets before the timing of the application of sterilization, in addition to the difficulty of applying Shoppers prevented from entering the outlets, especially the elderly and women ».

"The outlet management is keen to prevent any shopper from entering without wearing a mask and gloves, but at the same time it is difficult to prevent shoppers from entering the store when following these precautionary measures, as there are challenges in Convince them to wait outside the store. ”

Safety procedures

In the same context, the management of the "Carrefour" centers indicated that they implement multiple safety procedures, and may cause some temporary delays in entering the stores, as the entry of the customers is restricted at times to monitor the store capacity, and ensuring the application of social divergence.

She pointed out that she put "acrylic" glass panels at the payment boxes in the stores, and she also put up signs to guide customers about leaving safe distances during shopping, in addition to that, the team will measure the temperature of the dealers, and if the temperature was 38 degrees Celsius and above, it is required Of consumers e-shopping.

For his part, Nanda Kumar, a spokesperson for the Lulu Hypermarket group, said that "(the group) is currently looking at several options, with the aim of maintaining safe distances between consumers, in cooperation with its port officials", explaining that "among the options presented, Discussing ways to organize the waiting of consumers abroad, if there is a large number inside the port, or organizing the opening of entry gates temporarily », indicating that (Lulu) is primarily concerned with protecting consumers, and adherence to the procedures that maintain their safety. Kumar called on consumers to shop at times that are not as crowded as possible.

For its part, the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society announced that it has many mechanisms that enable it to commit to providing safe distances between shoppers, and to facilitate obtaining their needs easily and easily in the event of significant crowding, explaining that the spread of its branches in Abu Dhabi in various residential areas, in addition to that it has a number of The branches operate for 24 hours, reducing extreme crowding.

"There are difficulties in preventing some shoppers from entering, because that angered some, and made him go to another outlet, causing the port to lose to its customers," said an official at an average outlet, (S.R.), who only mentioned the first letters of his name.

Shoppers enter

Retail expert, Ibrahim Al-Bahr, stressed the necessity of organizing the process of shoppers entering the sales outlets urgently, asking about the role of the port officials and inspectors of the concerned authorities in implementing the decision to protect everyone, explaining that what is required is to organize the shoppers ’entry in a safe and comfortable way, and not preventing them from entering, pointing out The importance of educating consumers also about not crowding, in order to preserve the safety of all in these exceptional circumstances.

The Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi has received complaints about not adhering to safe spaces inside the outlets.

Reduced working hours in most outlets to keep pace with the national sterilization program.