A photo came across my social media feeds a few days ago about shopping in Burnaby.
The photo was of the Burnaby Costco on Still Creek Road and showed a massive crowd of shoppers lined up in the parking.
I had written about these crowds a few weeks ago and how people were not physical distancing. I decided to drop by again on Wednesday to see if anything had changed.
It hadn’t.
As you can see from the photos, the shoppers lined up outside area still crammed way too close together. It’s hard to blame the store because it only has so much room to put people. Perhaps closing part of the parking lot would be a better plan than what I saw on Wednesday.
I’m not trying to pick on Costco, but the crowds are insane there and it’s a gong show situation.
Just look at how people are all bunched together. Many are wearing masks so obviously they are concerned about COVID-19, but they aren’t making much of an effort to space out. And it’s not just the distance in front and in back, but the distance on the side.
The store has created a sort of maze, but everyone is still too close together.
I also don’t understand the mentality of the shopping. There were easily more than 100 people lined up in the pouring rain. At the rate the line was moving, I’d guess it would take 30 minutes to an hour to just get into the store.
And for what? Items that you could find at most other stores, albeit in smaller sizes? I get people were panicking a few weeks ago, but are we still stocking up despite everything we know now about our supply chains being safe?
I don’t get it. I’m not waiting that long to get into a store. I left the Costco and went to a small market and then to Safeway and my total wait time was about four minutes. Got everything I needed too.
We need to spread things out to keep people safer so they don’t get sick and infect others.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
