Shoppers should expect stricter rules at supermarkets as coronavirus cases continue to soar during lockdown.
Supermarkets are being warned to crack down on shoppers not following Covid regulations , reports the Mirror .
While there are no official laws yet in place regarding food shopping during the pandemic, the likes of Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's have been told this could change if compliance doesn't improve, according to reports.
Many of the big name supermarkets brought in extra measures in March last year as the UK entered its first lockdown, with limited numbers, queuing systems and floor markings ensuring social distancing.
Enter your postcode for the latest on coronavirus cases in your area:
Wearing face masks also became mandatory during the summer as the Government began to ease restrictions.
The crackdown comes after a Public Health England study in November found supermarkets are the most common exposure setting for catching Covid-19 in the country.
NHS Test and Trace data also shows more than 18 percent of positive cases had been to a supermarket in the days leading up to contracting coronavirus.
A Government source told The Times: "We need to make sure supermarkets in particular are following the rules given this is one of the few places where you still see people from different households in the same indoor space.
"So we will be looking at whether all the right protections are in place - including ensuring social distancing is being followed, that one way operations are in place, that there are limits on the number of people in stores at one time and that all customers are wearing masks."
The warning comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson told ministers during a review meeting on Sunday night the NHS was in a "perilous" position as England's hospital admissions passed 30,000 for the first time.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has backed more stringent enforcement of the lockdown by police and warned that "every flexibility" of the rules could prove fatal.
He said the majority of people are "following the rules" to stay at home, but refused to criticise the police over complaints that some forces have been over-zealous in handing out fines.
He said: "You might look at the rules and think 'Well, it doesn't matter too much if I just do this or do that'.
"But these rules are not there as boundaries to be pushed, they are the limit to what people should be doing."
