Supermarket sign for early closing hours

Dark green Waitrose poster with light green text reading ‘We are closing early today’ and white text reading ‘We’re so sorry for the inconvenience this will cause, but we want to ensure the safety of our customers and Partners at this difficult time. Be reassured we’ll be open again tomorrow and in the meantime, thank you for your understanding.’, from Waitrose & Partners, Finchley and of the type used in Waitrose shops during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020

Many supermarkets reduced their opening hours to deal with increased demand and reduced supplies, and additional cleaning regimes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Supermarket workers were considered key workers - designated by the United Kingdom government as “critical to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU transition response". One scientific report concluded that supermarkets were one place where people could catch COVID-19 with people working there at higher risk.