Please pay attention to the tape markings in McDonald’s, Tesco, Lidl and other stores

SAM March 22, 2020

McDonald\'s and other stores are placing tape on the floor to mark just how distant you should be from other customers — Pay attention to these markings (Picture: Twitter)

If you’ve been out lately (don’t unless you really have to – stay home as much as you can!), you may have noticed some markings on the floor.

Whether you’re popping out for essentials or for a quick bite because there’s nothing in stores, you might have seen tape around some of your usual faves.

It’s very important you pay attention to these.

McDonald’s, Lidl, Tesco, and Walmart are just a few of the superstores carving out marks to illustrate to customers just how far they should distance themselves from one another.

To halt the spread of coronavirus, people have been warned by health officials to stand apart.

The coronavirus is spread from person to person when someone with the infectious virus coughs or sneezes as respiratory droplets can land on you.

So people in close proximity are obviously at higher risk.

While that distance doesn’t mean you definitely won’t from catch it, it’s a good measure to take to lower your chances.

With that in mind, these stores have been trying their best to keep customers away from one another but sadly some have ignored it.

Our team at Lidl Cashel wanted to demonstrate the importance of social distancing at the checkout, to help stop the spread of COVID-19!

We’ve put down box markings on the floor across all our stores as a reminder to keep your distance when getting assistance! #BackInYourBox pic.twitter.com/Ggudc6SLy2
— Lidl Ireland (@lidl_ireland) March 19, 2020

One of the customers who came across these markings in a McDonald’s is apprentice Aircraft Engineer Ollie Smith, 22, who saw the slots when he visited the Cambridge store.

The boxes, intended for customers to stand in while waiting to collect their food, were marked out with red tape and spaced two-floor tiles apart from each other.

Ollie said: ‘Nobody was told to stand in the boxes, but you knew what the intention of the boxes was for.’

Inside the store was empty, he said, but the drive-thru was ‘packed.’

He added: ‘I couldn’t believe how real this was becoming.

‘I felt bad for the staff who were working extremely hard on the drive thru.’

The fast-food giant previously announced it would close all seating and children’s play areas in the fight against coronavirus.

Toilets and hand-washing facilities will stay open where possible, it said.

While other stores are implementing the same move, many have said on social media that not everyone is paying attention to them.

If you see them, please stay within the markings. Even if you don’t, try your hardest to stay as far away as possible to the person nearest to you.