Coronavirus: Grangemouth Asda to close overnight for cleaning and stock replenishment

The 24-hour store will close between midnight and 6am until further notice in a bid to alleviate the current panic buying situation.

In recent days supermarkets have seen their shelves cleared of sought-after items such as toilet roll, pasta, meat, bread, tins and milk as shoppers panic buy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Asda has now taken action, temporarily reducing from their normal opening hours to ensure staff can “clean and fully re-stock our shelves to be ready for our customers”.

The supermarket giant said it is staying close to the government’s information and advice to “ensure we are doing the right thing for both our colleagues and our customers”.

A statement from Asda said: “To try and help limit the spread of bacteria, we’ve put additional cleaning materials in our stores and re-focussed our cleaners who are cleaning on a more frequent schedule in the high traffic areas of our stores.

“Like most retailers, we have seen a heightened demand for products both in stores and online – particularly on items like hand sanitizer and cleaning products and as a result, have implemented a two item limit on purchasing these items.

“Whilst we are doing everything we can to maintain the availability of products for all our customers, we are asking our customers to shop responsibly in our stores and online so that everyone has access to the essentials.

“We are also grateful to our colleagues for their efforts to make sure our shelves are being refilled regularly and would ask customers to be patient with them as they try to meet this increased demand for products on the shop floor.”