Due to COVID-19, Elderly, Pregnant Women & the Disabled Will Have Exclusive Shopping Hour In All FairPrice Outlets

If you come to our app daily, you’d find this remotely familiar.

If not, here’s the article for your reference, and here’s a recap: a supermarket in Australia, Woolworths, experimented with this system, and the results were mixed.

Some considered it a success while in several outlets, people still came out of the supermarket empty-handed.

However, do note that it occurred during the period when toilet paper became the new currency, so that was at least effective in ensuring that people in need get what they need.

And now, our dear neighbourhood supermarket is copying jumping on the bandwagon, though with a different agenda.

Due to COVID-19, Elderly, Pregnant Women & the Disabled Have Exclusive Shopping Hour In All FairPrice Outlets

Even without people hoarding toilet paper to fill up their storeroom, NTUC FairPrice has decided to take a leaf out from Woolworths’ book.

Why, you ask. The goal now isn’t to stop the toilet paper madness, but for social distancing for the vulnerable.

The CEO of NTUC FairPrice says, “The dedicated shopping hour for our Pioneer Generation members help safeguard their well-being and provide them with more time and space.”

Lest you’re not aware, supermarkets now have markings on the floor to ensure that there’s a 1m distance between people in queues, and the last I was in a supermarket, I’m glad to announce that human beings are doing their part as human beings.

Just like the Australia supermarket, NTUC FairPrice outlets that are not open 24 hours would dedicate its first operating hour to this crowd (do note that it won’t be open an hour earlier). For outlets that are open 24 hours, the special hour will be 7am to 8am.

This will, however, only take place every Monday and will start from next Monday (30 March).

Elderly should present their Pioneer Generation card, while pregnant women and those with disabilities can just inform the staff that would be manning the entrance.

Now, of course you might be wondering: why must we protect this group more than others?

Firstly, you should reflect on why you’re such a bad human being. And secondly, it’s because of statistics.

Fatality Rate for Elderly is Much Higher

According to the guy who never lies (i.e. statistics), the fatality rate for people above 80 years old is at 14.8%, while people between 70 to 79 has a fatality rate of 8%. The rate decreases as one gets younger—in fact, no one below the age of 9 has died due to COVID-19, and only 0.18% of teenagers die from the disease.

Also, the fatality rate for people with cardiovascular disease (heart disease) and diabetes is much higher than people with other health conditions.

By now you should know that authorities all over the world are trying to flatten the curve instead of containing the virus altogether, so you can say that this is yet another step to flatten the curve…without impacting businesses.

But anyways I don’t think you can wake up that early as well.