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April 20, 2020, 00:40 GMT
USA
764,303 cases of COVID-19
40,548 American Deaths

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Even without going out of the house, bringing groceries into the house is a major endeavor. Our very first order was delivered within 3 hours of our placing the order on-line. However, "quick" is now a thing of the past. There is now about a full week or more wait after you place the order until an in-store shopper can fulfill the order.

Substitutions are now also the rule if a product is not in the store at time the shopper goes around the grocery store with your list. The shopper will text you to ask if a product can be substituted. However if you don't approve the substitution (either because you don't do texts or else if you're not available while the shopper is in the store), you get a refund for missing items on your list. If no substitution is available at all, you will get an automatic refund. Last order, about 50% of our chosen items weren't available at all.... This order about 20% of what we selected wasn't available. You can totally forget household cleaners and paper products. They aren't ever even available to order.

Once the shopper finishes getting the order, he/she will text you that they are leaving the store. Then, after they leave the groceries on the front porch, they will text you again once they are back inside their car. Thus, contactless delivery.

Then, the work starts for the home owner. Every single item delivered must be disinfected before it comes into the house. We use both Clorox and soap to wipe all packaging individually down. After that, the items requiring refrigeration go into a special area in the refrigerator & aren't used for 3 days. Non perishable items sit in our air lock for 3 days before I put them away in the pantry. So beyond our washing everything off, groceries go into a 3 day quarantine before being used. That way there is absolutely no chance of virus accidently coming into our home with the groceries. Lots of repeat handwashing is also involved. Maybe all this is excessive caution, but as the saying goes, "better safe than sorry."

I'll be glad when the world someday returns to normal. This new normal feels so odd.

In the 15 days between our last grocery deliver and this one, statistics went from 311,357 to 764,303 Confirmed Cases of Covid-19 in the USA & from 8,452 death to 40,548 American deaths. Grim Statistics. And a reason to stay away from the grocery store in person.