Waterstones to put books under 72-hour coronavirus quarantine when stores reopen
Retailer taking precautionary measures to allow books to ‘self heal’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Waterstones is planning to put books under a 72-hour quarantine when stores reopen, in a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus.
The company intends to ask customers to take any book they have touched and place them on trolleys, which will be wheeled away into storage for at least three days before being put back on shelves.
Chief executive of Waterstones, James Daunt, said the bookseller has been advised that the virus cannot survive for long on paper, but in the interest of safety the retailer has decided to quarantine books to give them time to “self heal”, according to a report in The Guardian.
Waterstones is also planning to install perspex screens in front of tills and limit the number of shoppers who can be in the stores at one time.
The retailer’s cafes will also remain closed when shops first reopen.
Waterstones has seen online sales rise more than 300 per cent during the pandemic.
In April, a survey by The Reading Agency found that one in three Brits are reading more since lockdown began.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments