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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