A Liverpool councillor has written an open letter to his local Tesco asking for social distancing measures to be enforced in the store as coronavirus cases "spiral" across Merseyside.
Councillor Steve Munby, who represents Riverside ward in Dingle, wrote last week to the Tesco on Park Road asking them to "review the public health practices in store" after noticing adherence to social distancing measures "has diminished" and saying "the store feels increasingly unsafe."
Tesco have responded to the claims, saying they take their safety protocols "extremely seriously" and have greeters on the door to encourage people to socially distance.
In the letter, which was published on social media and sent to the manager of the Park Road store, Cllr Munby said: "I am writing to you both as a local councillor and as someone who shops regularly in your store to ask you to review the public health practices in store.
"During lockdown I felt the store and staff put out a strong message about the risk of coronavirus to people shopping. I felt safe going in.
"Over the last few months this has diminished and the store feels increasingly unsafe. In light of the spiral in cases can I ask you to review your practices."
The letter goes on to suggest measures that could be implemented to improve safety at the store including to "locate a member of staff on the downstairs entrance and another by the upstairs door to remind people to wear a mask, observe social distancing and disinfect their hands."
Additional measures proposed by the councillor include having a staff member patrol the tills to advise on social distancing while people are waiting to pay.
The councillor concludes by saying: "I think this would significantly impact on behaviour and benefit the store – as many, more vulnerable residents will be more inclined to shop there."
The letter was circulated last week just prior to the enforcement of additional lockdown restrictions and Councillor Munby told the ECHO: "It's probably been the most shared post I've ever written on social media, and it shows the strength of concern around this.
"I am also writing to the new Lidl opening on Park Road to ask them to set a good example as they open next week.
"People generally are feeling quite vulnerable at the moment for good reasons and we've seen the spread of infections recently.
"I've been concerned to jog people's memory and judgement in our local stores.
"During lockdown I said our local supermarket was one of the safest places to go, but over summer as things have eased there has been a general pattern.
"I'm not saying there should be people with plain clothes at the door stopping people, most people behave well and care about other people, it's just about reminding people we need to adhere to the social distancing measures."
Councillor Munby says he's seen across Liverpool 8 a response to the pandemic which has made him "proud" with many local residents and organisations working hard to support each other through difficult times.
He said: "We have to keep up that message that it's about care for others and if people need support that's great, and in L8 we're already planning, with organisations looking to provide support as Christmas comes up - we're also saying how can we all help our fellow citizens through this time?
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"The way we learnt to behave in lockdown is not natural to us, we're social beings, and once it goes it's difficult to come back, there's a lagging factor - but we don't want this to go on forever."
While Councillor Munby says the government's response hasn't helped, as a community there is "something we can do."
He said: "I don't think there can be many people in Liverpool without complete and utter contempt for the way the government has handled this but we know that people work really well together generally and support each other. That's something we can do.
"What is in our power is to behave in a caring way towards each other, and for the supermarkets it's good business to want people to feel safe shopping in their store."
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “Throughout the pandemic and in line with government guidance, we have continually communicated our safety protocols, which we take extremely seriously, to our customers and colleagues and have tightened restrictions at all large stores with greeters on the door to encourage customers to observe all social distancing measures.”
