Customer 'shocked' to see 10 members of staff not wearing face masks in Milton Keynes supermarket

The man visits Asda in Bletchley once a week to get his family groceries.

While he was shopping last night, a tannoy message was sent out asking all customers to wear face masks if possible.

But when he started counting, the man spotted 10 employees and "many, many" customers were failing to do so.

"No excuses, it's terrible," he said.

"I understand some people can't wear masks because of asthma. But surely anyone can wear a face shield/visor?"

The man, who has now complained to Asda, added: "I wonder if this has added to our rise in Covid cases and the possibility of a higher restriction tier for MK?"

Government rules say face coverings must be worn by retail, leisure and hospitality staff working in areas that are open to the public and where they’re likely to come into contact with a member of the public.

But if these businesses have taken steps in line with Health and Safety Executive guidance for Covid-19 secure workplaces to create a physical barrier between workers and members of the public then staff behind the barrier will not be required to wear a face covering.

People with an age, health or disability reason for not wearing a face covering are also exempt.

A spokesman for Asda told the Citizen today: "All of our colleagues must wear a face mask unless they are exempt or if they are in a role where they would already have a barrier between themselves and anybody else (plastic screens at checkouts for example)."

He added: " We consistently monitor the number of customers in our stores, we recently announced that we will have 1,000 new Asda Safety Marshals stationed at the front of every store and in the aisles of larger stores. These colleagues will be on hand to help customers with safety queries and reiterate Government guidelines to wear a face covering and maintain social distancing while they shop.

‘’We have extensive measures in place across all our stores such as covid-marshals, protective screens, social distancing signage and numerous hand sanitiser stations. Our customers can rest assured that we continue to follow all government guidance as we have since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.’’