Sunday, May 3, 2020

Shopping in Greek Stores during the COVID-19 Lockdown


The first time I went to one of our Cretan village’s supermarkets in April, I had to wait while two people in front of me were given the numbered entry tickets that limited store occupancy and the flimsy disposable plastic gloves that made it hard to use our hands. The next time I went, the gloves were there, but no longer required; the numbers were still mandatory.

Wearing a mask and tight rubber gloves like most employees, the produce clerk appreciated my patience and gratitude while she disinfected the counter and scale before weighing my avocadoes. She said many customers were neither patient nor careful, which disturbed her for both their sakes and hers. The full-time, permanent supermarket employees have been working longer hours to try to meet consumer demand while avoiding overcrowding. 

Red circles on the floor near checkout indicate appropriate social distancing while waiting in line at the supermarket. Behind plexiglass but without a mask, the cheerful checkout clerk was not too worried, even when I asked about her brother in northern Italy. She told me he’s staying inside and hopes to come to Greece this summer, if flights are running.

At Greece’s naptime, that supermarket has been about as empty of people as I’ve ever seen it. On the other hand, almost all the shelves are generally full. There were some gaps on the paper towel and pasta shelves one day, but still a wide selection of products, and there has been plenty of toilet paper. Apparently, Greeks are not as obsessed with toilet paper as Americans.

Notices by the antiseptic wipes limited them to one pack per customer, although there was a large pile of the wipes. We have not always been able to find hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol, but everything else on my list has been there. I don’t understand why the store shelves on a Greek island should be full, while so many of America’s are empty. Less panic in Greece? More family gardens, orchards, olive groves, and handy livestock, and more interest and faith in the fresh products they provide?

I suspect that there is more personal protective equipment per capita here than in the U.S., too. Before the middle of April, the pharmacy had both a plexiglass shield between customers and employees, and gowns, masks, and gloves on the pharmacist and her assistants. I have seen no one wearing homemade masks so far. At least in my part of Crete, there was only a fleeting mask shortage when our lockdown began. We’ll see if demand grows, and the supply disappears, as we emerge from lockdown.

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