A Mexican government body warned grocery stores Thursday about complaints it has received alleging discrimination against the elderly and single-parent families due to coronavirus social-distancing measures.
Many grocery stores, especially those in Mexico City, have instituted rules allowing only one family member at a time into their stores to reduce crowding.
But the city’s council on preventing discrimination says it has received more than 40 complaints about the limits. The council said stores should be flexible, because some older people need to be accompanied by a relative and some single parents have nobody else to look after their children while they shop.
Some stores have also set aside times of the day reserved for elderly shoppers, whose age puts them at higher risk of developing severe cases of COVID-19. But the council said the elderly should not be barred from shopping at other times of the day if they so wish.
