Milan, March 25 Inter Milan midfielder Ashley Young has asked people to always wear gloves in the supermarket which he feels is the main risk area as the country worst hit by the deadly coronavirus struggles to get back on its feet.
Former Manchester United captain Young plies his trade for Inter in the heart of Europe's worst-affected region with more than 6,000 reported dead in Italy overall.
Young said he wanted to share his thoughts "given I'm currently living in Italy, the epicentre of the virus".
"Realistically a supermarket is now your main risk at spreading this virus and even catching it. Speaking with family and friends at home it sounds like going to get food is just crazy. Remember, lockdown means lockdown!
"In Italy going to the supermarket is surprisingly calm... no fights over food, no stripped shelves and most certainly no abusing staff members for limiting food or any reason at all! And in almost every case it's usually just one person shopping for a household!
"Queuing to go into supermarket is standard, but not because it's for stockpiling or greed. Supermarkets have limited the number of people entering at any time so it's never over-crowded! So wait and be patient to go in if your supermarket is doing this.
"Always use gloves from moment you get out of your car! You don't want to touch trolleys that other hands have been on. Keep the gloves on until you are getting back in the car.
"Use a face mask or scarf to keep your nose and mouth covered.
"Always keep your distance at the till. Keep the trolley behind you when you unpack at the till as it stops people from being able to to get too close.
"Don't unpack your shopping right on top of somebody else's, make a gap between theirs and yours so none of your shopping touches theirs. Here we can't put our groceries on the belt until the person in front has finished paying," he wrote in a series of tweets.
"This may sound harsh but treat everybody that's not in your household as if they have the virus," he said. "You just don't know!
"Most importantly, just stay safe! This is what we are doing here, it's not an overreaction, it's staying safe. And just remember others should be looking at you in this way as well. It's not horrible, it's a way of keeping your distance to ultimately help save lives," he added.
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 6,820 lives in Italy as of Tuesday with the cumulative total number of confirmed cases nearing 70,000, according to new data released by the Civil Protection Department.
( With inputs from IANS )