Coronavirus: Walmart begins limiting number of people in stores, other changes

Credit: Don & Melinda Crawford/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Credit: Don & Melinda Crawford/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Walmart has announced that, starting today, it will limit the number of customers that can be in a store so they can preserve social distancing.

According to a press release, the company will now only allow five customers per 1,000 square feet of space in the store at any given time – roughly a fifth of a given store’s capacity.

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This will be regulated by employees at a single-entry door, where there will be a marked-out line for customers to stand in. They will then be admitted one at a time and counted.

Both employees and signs will also remind customers of the importance of social distancing while they’re waiting.

The stores will also begin implementing one-way movement through their aisle in a number of stores using floor markers and direction from employees.

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After checking out, customers will be directed out a different entrance than they came in to prevent closely passing others.

“We always want people to feel welcome at Walmart, and we know that in ordinary times a store is a gathering place for members of a community to connect and socialize,” the company said in the release. “We look forward to the time when that is again the case; however, we now want to prioritize health and safety by encouraging customers to do their shopping at a distance from others, then head home.”

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