A Guide To Avoiding Pharmacies And Grocery Stores Without Sacrificing Your Needs

The COVID-19 outbreak in the US, which changed the normal routines of Americans, is set to change another aspect of your life. During a briefing at the White House on Saturday, the coronavirus task force announced that the pandemic is predicted to hit its peak in the next two weeks. Because of this, Federal Officials are warning everyone against going out to buy things, even for food or medication.

Only If Absolutely Essential

According to response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, this will not be the time to be visiting the grocery store or the pharmacy. She said that instead, you should be “doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe.” On Monday night, during the COVID-19 briefing, Dr. Birx clarified her statement by saying that Americans should not go out for shopping unless absolutely “essential.”

Dr. Birx said, “We as Americans should be doing everything possible.” She also added that what she meant was that “if you can consolidate, if you can send one person,” the entire family does not need to go out anymore. She reminded everyone that COVID-19 is a highly transmittable virus.

Home Delivery

Although New York City has lots of pharmacies that offer home delivery on items like prescription medicine, having food delivered to you is not that easy nowadays. Grocery delivery services like Instacart, Fresh Direct, and Peapod are over-subscribed at present, and lots of people find it hard to book a slot.

As a consequence, the remaining solution is to observe the best practices when visiting the grocery store. This is to protect your health and the health of people around you. In an interview with The Post, Dr. Jiyoung Ahn, a Manhattan epidemiologist, she said that the main problem is that people need to eat. She said, “I agree with the White House directive to avoid going out shopping as much as you can, but in many cases, it is unavoidable.” To resolve the issue, Dr. Ahn, who is also an NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center associate director of population science, made some suggestions so people could safely and infrequently shop.

Shopping With Military Precision

According to Dr. Ahn, people should lay out a plan with military precision for their once-every-ten-days visit to Gristedes, Trader Joe’s, or Whole Foods. Family meals need to be planned ahead, preferably two weeks in advance, so a full shopping list of ingredients can be created. Everything should be included to avoid going shopping for last-minute ingredients.

At the store, everyone should observe social distancing and stick to the list of ingredients they wrote down. Furthermore, visit the grocery store early in the morning or later at night as these are the times when they are less crowded.

Opt For Delivery Services

Whenever possible, use a delivery service, so there is no need for you to go out of your home. Although delivery services may be swamped at the moment, some users have had some success with popular delivery services like Fresh Direct. They said they placed their orders in the middle of the night. You can also try Peapod, Instacart, or Amazon Fresh, though you should already expect some delays. Mercato is said to offer free delivery, using the code OVER60, for persons 60 years old or more.

With no restaurants to supply, wholesalers have reportedly opened up their goods for the general public. Some of them are Baldor Specialty Foods and Chef’s Warehouse. Both wholesalers serve areas that include New York City.

Be In The Proper Attire

The CDC has advised that everyone should wear masks and put on latex gloves whenever they are going out of their homes. When buying items at the grocery store, you should immediately wash each item you bought in soapy water and rinse them with cold water. Do this the moment you arrive home, according to Dr. Ahn.

She also reminded everyone to be very cautious when taking off your gloves. Try removing them with a flip of the palm and wrist. Dr. Ahn also said, “You need to copy the way you see surgeons do this on the TV.”

Sanitize Your Cart

Meanwhile, the program director of food systems and safety at Clemson University in South Carolina, Kimberly Baker, said you need to sanitize your shopping cart. She explained that using sanitizing wipes or hand sanitizer-soaked paper towels to clean the shopping cart helps a lot in preventing the spread of COVID-19. She said, “A lot of stores have run out of their own supplies of wipes, so bring your own.”

Open-Air Markets

Both experts recommend that, as long as you practice caution and social distancing, you should try shopping at open-air farmer’s markets. Local Roots, Farm to People, Rustic Roots, and OurHarvest delivery options for farmers’ market kind of foods. Carnivores could try services like Farmer Girls and Butcher Box.

Whenever possible, you might want to try your hand at planting vegetables or small fruits. You can buy seedlings for tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peas and plant them in small pots. You will enjoy the benefits in just a few months. If you live in an apartment, you can try growing an herb garden in a window box or pot.

Proper Handling

One of the biggest concerns of Ms. Baker is the fact that some people do not seem to handle properly a large number of groceries they bought, especially meat. She reminded everyone that illnesses like salmonella could land you in a hospital, a place that you would really want to avoid at present, Ms. Baker said.

If you are not going to consume them during the next following days, try to freeze them. Properly defrost them in the refrigerator and not on your kitchen counter. Ms. Baker also said, “If you don’t do it in the fridge, then the next best thing is to run the items under cold, running water.” You can defrost it in the microwave, but then you get those uneven hot spots, so you need to double-check it has been defrosted all the way through,” she added.

Dr. Ahn, on the other hand, is more of a microwave fan. She said the device could be a lifesaver when heating foods between 140 and 150 degrees as that can kill the coronavirus.

Take-Outs

A safe option for families during the virus outbreak is to order takeout. Some shops have curbside delivery options like Seamless, Grubhub, Door Dash, and Postmates. Dr. Ahn, however, reminds everyone not to immediately consume the takeout from its packaging. You can take it out from its packaging and put the food on a plate or bowl, then throw away its containers or boxes.