Alberta's top doc brings up once-a-week grocery trips to prevent COVID spread

EDMONTON -- It's been nearly two months since the first case of COVID-19 was announced in Alberta and the province's top doctor says we aren't out of the woods yet.

Hinshaw even mentioned in a tweet Tuesday evening that Albertans may even find tighter restrictions closing in on them as time goes on.

Visits to the grocery store to should be kept once per week & try to have only one person/household do the shopping.

We are working hard to protect grocery workers while ensuring families have flexibility to meet their needs during this difficult time. https://t.co/HAAn4h1C4l

— Dr. Deena Hinshaw (@CMOH_Alberta) April 21, 2020

The idea of once-a-week grocery trips was mentioned online last week after Western Canada's largest private-sector union announced the proposal.

The United Food and Commercial Workers 401 wants to see specific government regulations to not only limit shoppers to one trip for groceries per week but also restrict families to designate one adult to do all their shopping.

"They're letting hundreds of people wander through grocery stores. So where's the regulatory regime?" said president Tom Hesse.

While Hinshaw did mention the topic in her tweet, Alberta Health confirmed to CTV News Wednesday there is presently no regulation in place about grocery shopping.

"The advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health is to restrict your visits to a grocery store to once per week whenever possible and to try to keep it to one person/household doing the shopping. This will help protect your health and the health of those around you," said Tom McMillian, assistant director of communications.

Nonetheless, Albertans had mixed reactions to Hinshaw's post, with some saying it's a good idea while others saying it would not work for everyone.

Yes once a week. Follow the lines on the floor. Don’t talk to anybody. Don’t look at anybody. Pay with debit. Don’t sample the food. Left eye only. Gloves and masks, buy hand sanitizer, only one toilet paper per person. We get the drill

— Bad-luca (@NazNeeds_a_hug) April 21, 2020

That’s the goal, but when stores limit purchases and you are feeding 4 kids it makes it hard to go only once a week. Just saying

— Ryan (@Ryan3yyc) April 21, 2020

I grocery shop every 2 weeks or so and at first people were really being careful. Less now. I saw a family of mom, dad and 3 young kids. No control over their children. Please say more on this live. It’s gotten bad.

— GonnaBlow (@GonnaBlow) April 21, 2020

We need to keep in mind, Moms that don't have Dads at home. We are following the rules except "one person/household do the shopping" Should I leave my boy at home or in the truck? The stares I get make our 1xper week out of our house embarrassing. Not every family fits the mold.

— Kim Watt (@RichDecision) April 22, 2020

'We haven't yet seen the spread'

During her daily update Tuesday, Hinshaw said Alberta needs to be cautious about loosening regulations and get back to a normal routine.

She said COVID-19 is still here and we need to continue to "take it very seriously."

"We can think about this virus as a tidal wave that could have swept in and left the trail of destruction behind it. This didn't happen because we collectively formed a barrier by our actions to prevent the full force of this wave from striking us. As we start to change our behaviour in planning to reopen segments of our society, we need to remember that the potential force of that tidal wave is still there. We will need to keep following core elements of the public health measures for many months to come."

There are over 3,000 cases of coronavirus in Alberta and the province says it is still monitoring the situation and will put in additional measures in place if they are needed.

(With files from the Canadian Press)