Coronavirus: How safe is takeaway food or grocery shopping?

Remember a time – just a few weeks ago – when a trip to the supermarket wasn’t restricted to the “basic necessities” to be done “as infrequently as possible”?

Those were the words Boris Johnson used about the new approach to shopping as he outlined the government’s curbs on daily life, to limit the spread of coronavirus. He said people should “use food delivery services where you can”.

But what are the safest ways to go shopping for food or accept a delivery or takeaway at home?

What’s the risk in shops?

Coronavirus spreads when an infected person coughs small droplets – packed with the virus – into the air. These can cause an infection if they are breathed in, or potentially if you touch a surface they have landed on.

So going shopping and mixing with other people does carry a risk. That is why social distancing – keeping at least 2m (about 6ft) from others – is so important, and many shops are enforcing it.