As a third national lockdown comes into force today, supermarkets and are having to change the way they work as essential stores remain open.

As was the case during the first lockdown, supermarkets will stay open so that people can still shop for essential items.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced what has been dubbed ‘lockdown 3.0’ in a televised address to the nation on Monday night.

Speaking from No 10 Downing Street the PM confirmed non-essential businesses will once again be asked to close.

While supermarkets will be asked to stay open, they will have to bring in rule changes of their own to ensure the safety of their customers.

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Here is the latest guidance from supermarkets amid the ongoing coronavirus restrictions.

ASDA

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Asda has said that it currently has strong product availability across its stores and depots with employees working around the clock to keep shelves stocked.

Asda is also asking customers to play their part by continuing to shop considerately and not buy more than they normally would.

Asda CEO and President, Roger Burnley, said: “As Covid restrictions are tightened across the UK to protect our health, we will continue to do all we can to keep colleagues and customers safe in store as we have since the start of the pandemic.

“Our stores and distribution centres have proved to be highly resilient to the challenges of a national lockdown and we are confident that we can continue to deliver choice and value for customers in the weeks ahead. We are asking customers can play their part too by continuing to shop considerately and respecting social distancing when they visit our stores.”

Aldi

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Aldi has asked its customers not to panic buy saying there is “good availability” on all products and regular delivery times. Stores will also have an increased contactless limit of £45 in an attempt to encourage payments by card.

Aldi’s CEO Giles Hurley said: "As new Government restrictions are introduced across the UK, I want to reassure you that all our stores are fully stocked, we have good availability and there are regular deliveries, at least once a day. There is no need to buy more than normal so please shop considerately.

"If you can’t make it into one of our stores, our new Click & Collect service is now available in over 200 locations. Visit  groceries.aldi.co.uk  to see if this new service is available in your area."

He added: "Of course our measures to ensure that you can continue to shop safely at your local Aldi remain in place.

  • All our stores have a traffic light system at entrances to ensure a safe number of people can shop at any one time, whilst maintaining social distancing.
  • We have protective screens at all 7,000 of our checkouts and all stores have sanitisation stations for customer use.
  • There are clear signs and social distancing markers advising how to shop safely.
  • We are encouraging payment by card or contactless when possible, with an increased contactless limit of £45.
  • We continue to provide NHS, Blue Light and vulnerable customers priority access at specific times.

"Our colleagues wear face masks in store, unless they are behind screens at the checkout or are exempt for medical reasons. Thank you for supporting us and keeping others safe by wearing one too."

Tesco

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Tesco are also encouraging shoppers to buy “only what they need” as stock levels return to normal.

Tesco says: "To make sure more people have access to everyday essentials, we’ve introduced a limit of 95 items per online order.

"As our stock levels are starting to return to normal, we’re removing purchase limits on most of our products. On some essentials such as toilet roll, pasta and hand sanitisers, we’ve kept these limits until we’re fully stocked up again.

"We continue to encourage customers to buy only what they need, to help make sure there’s enough for everyone."

Morrisons

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Morrisons has urged customers to be patient and have pledged to increase production where possible to meet high demand.

They said: "Our website shows all available delivery slots - there are no further slots other than those shown.

"We are increasing production where possible so that we can service the high levels of customer demand we are currently seeing. Please be patient and continue to check the website for our latest range."

Sainsbury’s

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Sainsbury’s says: "We have been working hard to expand our service across home delivery and we are now able to offer home delivery slots to many of our customers. We’re continuing to prioritise access to home delivery slots for vulnerable customers, and are releasing new slots regularly.

"We have worked with the government to identify those in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are extremely vulnerable and have shopped with us before. 

"If you have received a letter from the NHS and you register on GOV.UK you will be able to request access to priority online slots, if you have no-one else to go shopping for you 

"We’ll prioritise these customers for home delivery slots, and we’ll be in touch to let you know when this has happened if we haven’t already."

Lidl

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Lidl have moved to put customers at ease when visiting their stores amid the ongoing health crisis.

On their website it says: “We are committed to offering our shoppers high quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout this public health emergency.

“As is the case in normal times, fluctuations in raw material prices may be reflected on sticker prices in store.

“During this public health emergency, we are diligently adhering to all state and local regulations with regard to price increases and more broadly are committed to fair pricing everywhere we operate at all times.

“In this time of increased anxiety and concern, shoppers can feel confident that Lidl is a destination committed to serving them with the highest value every day.”