Walmart and other grocery store chains in Georgia have begun implementing new safety procedures as the coronavirus outbreak continues.

Walmart and other grocery store chains in Georgia have begun implementing new safety procedures as the coronavirus outbreak continues.

As the CDC reconsiders public procedures around mask useage, retailers and grocery stories around Georgia are implementing new policies to protect their customers and employees.

Kroger, Home Depot and Walmart are among some of the retailers who have committed to new sanitation practices and are in the process of trying to secure gloves and masks for their employees.

Walmart announced this week that they are planning to institute new screening procedures for their employees. If an associate has a fever of 100 degrees or higher or answers "yes" to questions on a screening questionnaire, they will be asked to return home. They've also commited to securing protective equipment like masks and gloves for their workers.

Walmart Corporate Communications Senior Manager Charles Crowson said they're committed to implemeting the changes, but changes won't happen overnight.

"Providing these materials to facilities and enacting these health initiatives will take about three weeks to put in place," Crowson said. "There has been some confusion that this program would start immediately."

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Kroger is providing its associates with what they're calling a "hero bonus," which it describes as "a $2 premium above standard base rate of pay, applied to hours worked March 29 through April 18 – for all hourly frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center associates."

Both Kroger and Walmart have begun installing plexiglass shields at checkout counters and has instituted new sanitation procedures for their stores.

"Last week, we began installing plexiglass barriers at our pharmacy lanes," Crowson said. "We will install these guards at the regular Walmart registers during the next three weeks."

The chains have also installed decals encouraging social distancing in checkout lines.

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Home Depot has said that overtime work will be paid at double the usual hourly rate, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The store is paying bonuses of $100 per week for full-time employees and $50 per week for part-time workers. Employees have also been given additional PTO and the company is waiving health insurance co-pays.

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