Three Shanghai industry associations under the guidance of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce launched a raft of guidelines on epidemic prevention and control in trade industries on March 1.

The guidelines establish a hierarchical warning system for the possible arrival of large customer flows in stores, supermarkets and shopping centers.

Specifically, the guidelines regulate that every 100 square meters of indoor space should contain fewer than 50 people. Stores should be well ventilated at all times, and be disinfected at least every four hours.

The guidelines require shopping malls to have an appointed person responsible for real-time monitoring and management of personnel density and customer flow, so that measures can be quickly taken to guide customers in one-way traffic, increase cashier staff, pause the sale of goods when queues grow too long, and temporarily suspend personnel access at bust times. 

For some major areas, such as entrances and cashier areas, signs requesting a "1 meter line" in queues should be set up. Self-service and self-help shopping are recommended to minimize queuing times.

A "1 meter line" interval sign is set up in a supermarket in Shanghai during the coronavirus epidemic. [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]