Scores of grocery store workers in the United States have died from the coronavirus. This is despite masks, temperature checks and limiting the number of customers in the store, to keep them safe.

Now, some experts, union leaders and small grocery store owners believe it has become too perilous to allow customers to browse aisles. Experts say it’s time to convert to customers just picking up their orders, and to home delivery for essential goods.

Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ union, says “Careless customers” are “probably the biggest threat” to workers right now. He said 85% of its grocery store member workers reported that customers are not practicing social distancing in stores.

Many small, independent grocery stores have already stopped customers entering, to protect their staff. They say, “Any store still allowing hundreds to enter every day is taking a calculated risk on behalf of their front line staff.”

The US Labour Department last week recommended that retailers start “using a drive-through window to protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus’. However, some companies and safety experts say it’s not viable to convert all grocery stores to delivery and pickup-only outposts. They say ordering systems for both pickup and delivery are completely overwhelmed by a crush of demand from customers. Online pickup and delivery require a much larger staff.  That could fill supermarkets to capacity with workers, and defeat the purpose of removing the public from stores. Further, grocery stores have already hired more workers during the pandemic to meet demand, and they’re increasing pay for existing employees to convince them to stay on the job.

Umm Muhammed Umar