Going down the wrong aisle

THE DECISION of the Supermarkets Association of TT (SATT) not to designate groceries safe zones constitutes a missed opportunity on the part of the private sector and the Government.

As a private-sector group, the association is entitled to do as it sees fit within the limits of the law. And thus far supermarkets have generally acted in compliance with public health regulations, to the extent that all shoppers are now used to the range of health protocols implemented at stores.

However, most supermarkets are poorly ventilated or have areas of their layout that are cramped. As sound as many of the systems in place are, they are not completely infallible – especially with the emergence of the omicron covid19 variant, which shows signs of being even more transmissible than the devastating delta variant.

It is in the long-term interest of supermarkets – and the private sector as a whole – for the country’s vaccination rate to be higher.

With record-breaking numbers of deaths being recorded this week, hospital capacity now overwhelmed and morgues overburdened – and all this as we brace for an omicron wave – we need to use every possible measure available to protect the population.

One such measure is the designation of public spaces as safe zones so as to encourage behaviour change.

A statement issued by SATT president Rajiv Diptee on Wednesday said the association believes customers have a right to access food.

But even SATT has acknowledged the limits to that right through its own measures which bar entry to people who do not wear masks or who refuse to comply with the rules.

Some SATT members might really believe the issue is the risk of alienating a large segment of the population that is unvaccinated, and hence losing their sales.

But designating supermarkets safe zones might actually bolster sales. Many people are afraid of shopping for fear of touching goods that have been handled by others. If there was a guarantee that only vaccinated people could be on the premises, these people might be encouraged to shop for food.

People in this country love food, and it is precisely because of this that the Government should work with supermarkets to make them into safe zones. Aligning such a rudimentary impulse such as eating with vaccination might act as a powerful incentive for those on the fence to get jabbed.

In the end, both food and vaccines are matters of life and death. You cannot buy groceries if you are not alive to do so.

If the concern is economic, the Government should offer financial incentives or subsidies. Such incentives might seem extravagant given the pressures on the Treasury now. But the costs pale in comparison with the costs of caring for more and more critically ill people, as well as the profound losses, both personal and national, represented by the deaths of more citizens.

We cannot keep going down the wrong aisle.