'She yelled at one guy who got too close and poked him away with the tape measure.' Photo / Ryan Domenico De Dominicis
A woman has been photographed shopping in the fruit and vegetable aisle at Pak'n Save using a tape measure set at 2 metres to avoid other shoppers getting too close to her.
The photos were snapped this morning at Pak'n Save in Kilbirnie, Wellington, by fellow shopper Ryan Domenico De Dominicis.
"The social distancing warrior of Pak N Save. Armed with a tape measure locked to 2m and yelling "TWO METERS" at anyone that strayed too close. What a hero," Dominicis posted on Facebook.
He told the Herald other people in the store looked bemused at the woman, who reportedly kept shouting "two metres" whenever someone got close to her.
"People just seemed quite bemused. She yelled at one guy who got too close and poked him away with the tape measure. His expression was one of shock really. He laughed it off once she moved away," he said.
Dominicis says he found it "kind of funny".
"The social distancing rule is an important one to follow but I think it's also important to follow it with kindness and respect. Using a tape measure is probably going a bit too far.
Having said that, I don't know what her reasons for doing it were."
On Facebook, some users commented that the woman appeared to be touching fruit that she then put back - going against advice to not touch products in the supermarket unless you purchase them.
"I wasn't really paying too much attention to that but it did look as though she was feeling the avocados for ripeness," Dominicis said.
Supermarkets in New Zealand have put in place a number of measures to ensure shoppers are able to keep social distance while in the premises.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
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