Grocery store

Supermarkets have had to reduce the number of customers they serve at any one time by up to 60% due to the stricter measures imposed on retail commerce since Monday, when other stores reopened.

The measures have resulted in long queues outside supermarkets.

When the state of emergency in the country was declared in mid-March, many people rushed to food stores and began stocking up on durable products - flour, cereals, canned food, toilet paper... The traders' assurances that none of these was at risk of disappearing from shelves did not help.

While it dramatically changed everyone's lives, the epidemic postponed or completely canceled some of the business' plans, while others  it drew nearer in time by at least 1-2 years. Consumers in Bulgaria, those who got stuck in the time around the beginning of the transition, abruptly recalled what it was like to wait in line for food, with the difference that now food is not in short supply.

Ljubljana – Shops that are not selling essentials will be closed again as of Thursday and only essential services will be provided as the temporary easing of restrictions before the holidays ended on Wednesday. Public transport will continue to operate during the holidays and travel around Slovenia will be allowed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The regional health inspectorates, Food Agency and Interior Ministry teams will raid on big retail chains stores to prevent queuing in front of stores and crowding inside them.

Unlike Greek courier companies, which are struggling with an overload of orders, local supermarkets have successfully responded to the challenge of home deliveries and increased their clientele by expanding their services this year.

The new consumer habits the pandemic has created are here to stay, at least for most of the consumers who are picking them up during lockdown.

Some of the habits originally expected to be adopted within three years by a large part of the population, such as buying groceries online, were in fact adopted within a few days and now are considered routine for many Greeks.

Greece's three main supermarket chains, Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos and MyMarket, appear to be the biggest winners from the massive rise in turnover in organized food retail. However, small retailers, minimarkets and grocers were among the winners, demonstrating quick reflexes in response to the new needs created by the coronavirus lockdown.

All of the 75 baby food kitchens in Sofia are to open on 18 May, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova announced.

"All premises where the food is prepared have been disinfected following all health and sanitary requirements. The kitchen staff has been tested for Covid-19," Mayor Fandakova said.

Turkey will impose a four-day lockdown between April 23 and April 27 on 31 provinces as part of efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.