"As the Covid-19 pandemic develops, we continue to work on a number of other initiatives to support and protect all of our customers and colleagues."

Tesco Ireland has announced the introduction of priority shopping for healthcare workers during the Covid-19 coronavirus emergency. In a statement issued on Friday (27 March), the supermarket giant noted that the dedicated shopping hours will commence from Tuesday 31 March in all stores prior to 9am, allowing healthcare workers to avail of the first hours of trading. Tesco is asking the general public to support this measure, underlining that it continues to develop other initiatives to support all customers including elderly and vulnerable members of society who are availing of priority shopping hours and online deliveries where possible. The chain has also launched a €270,000 community fund campaign, supporting over 453 local causes assisting vulnerable people in villages, towns and cities across Ireland. Tesco has also made a €50,000 donation each to ALONE, Age Action and Family Carers Ireland.

"Our grocery home shopping service is currently prioritising over 65 customers with online delivery as much as we can," said Geoff Byrne, Chief Operating Officer of Tesco Ireland.

"That is why we are asking customers to ‘think before they click’ and shop in store if they can.  This will allow us to free up valuable home delivery slots for those who need it most."

Tesco has implemented a range of health and safety measures across all stories, including:

• Clear physical distancing signage
• Plexiglass screens on all checkouts, self-checkouts and clear queuing guidelines
• Sanitising stations for customers as they enter the shop
• Sanitiser and wipes for colleagues and regular breaks for hand washing
• Additional cleaning in stores and of trolleys

"We are hoping that for the next while, customers who don’t need to use our grocery home shopping service, will support this initiative," Byrne added. "As the Covid-19 pandemic develops, we continue to work on a number of other initiatives to support and protect all of our customers and colleagues."