A CALLINGTON resident has described shopping at a local supermarket as a ‘free for all’ and says he feels his concerns over face masks and social distancing were not taken seriously.

David Draper has visited his local Tesco branch three times in the last week, including on a busy Saturday, and says that there were no staff on the door to count people in and out as there had been previously.

He’s also worried that shoppers’ use of face masks is not being monitored.

David said that while in store he had seen two men without masks, and when he enquired why they weren’t wearing face coverings, he received a ‘mouthful of f-words’ from one of them.

‘I went and spoke with the manager, and asked what the policy was. He said that the store was not actually policing it and that there were signs up.’

David took his concerns to the Tesco head office but says he feels ‘fobbed off’ by the response he got.

‘There’s nobody there to control the number of people who can go in so they can shop safely,’ he said, ‘at Callington it’s a free-for-all.’

Another resident said she had been to Tesco and that she was surprised that shoppers were not keeping a distance.

‘People with masks on think they can come right next to you,’ she said, ‘It was not nice shopping today.’

Local Teresa Pennington said : ‘I’ve been shielding for four months and that came to an end or pause on August 1. That means a lot of vulnerable people are going to be out and about whilst social distancing seems to have gone out the window – it’s scary.’

Current Government rules on social distancing say that customers must wear masks when inside a supermarket or retail shop, although there are exemptions for age or medical reasons.

The liability rests with the individual for wearing a face covering, says the Government, but it states that ‘shops, supermarkets and other premises where face coverings are required are encouraged to take reasonable steps to promote compliance with the law and could refuse entry to anyone who does not have a valid exemption.’

Local resident Robyn said she thought it was up to individual shoppers to keep themselves safe.

‘Retail workers and managers aren’t the police, therefore can’t and shouldn’t have to be forced to “police” it,’ she said. ‘You are in charge of your own safety. So if someone enters your bubble, tell them so. Or move away.’

We asked Tesco what their policy was and for their response on Callington specifically. A spokesperson said: ‘The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority and we are closely following Government guidance. We have reviewed the social distancing measures in our stores to ensure that they are in line with the latest guidance and that everyone can continue to maintain a safe distance. We ask that our customers continue to support us by following the measures in place.’

The supermarket said that it was continuing to put a limit on the number of people in stores, and that it would resume a ‘one-in, one-out’ system once maximum capacity had been reached.

Tesco said that it had removed the one-way system in stores but that floor markings were in place along with signs reminding people to keep a safe distance. Hand sanitiser and cleaning stations remain in place in stores, it said, and packs of face coverings are available to buy near the front of stores for customers who have forgotten to bring a mask.

The Cornish Times/Cornish and Devon Post also asked several other supermarkets with local branches to tell us about their policies.

Sainsbury’s said: ‘We are asking everyone to continue playing their part in helping us to keep everyone safe in our stores and to wear face coverings, in line with the government guidance.

‘Posters will be displayed inside and outside our stores and there will be regular tannoy announcements asking customers to follow the new rules, but our colleagues will not be responsible for enforcing them.’

The Co-op gave us this response: ‘The health and safety of Co-op colleagues, customers and members is our priority. In line with new laws set out by the Government, it became mandatory to wear a face covering to cover the nose and mouth when shopping in Co-op stores in England from 24 July. This will be clearly communicated through store signage and we’d like to reiterate to all non-exempt customers that it is their responsibility to ensure they are in adherence with the new legal requirements. Colleagues are not asked to challenge customers who are not wearing face coverings.’

We did not hear back from Morrisons or from Aldi before going to press.