Ralphs is making its strongest move yet to protect its workers from the coronavirus, saying on Tuesday it will install plexiglass barriers to separate shoppers from cashiers.

The supermarket said the two-week installation process begins later this week with partitions added to every checkout line and pharmacy and Starbucks counters.

Additionally, employees can opt to wear protective gloves and masks. Ralphs’ parent company, Kroger, is asking government officials to give grocery stores priority status in acquiring such protections from COVID-19, according to a company statement.

Ralphs spokesman John Votova said these measures will protect store workers as well as the public at large.

“We believe these steps … will help to ensure the safety of our team and help our communities to flatten the curve while at the same time meeting our obligation to be there for our customers,” Votava said in a statement.

Late Friday, the parent company announced hourly workers at area Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores will be getting a bonus for their work helping to keep the stores open during the coronavirus pandemic, the stores’ ownership company announced Saturday. The onetime bonuses will amount to $300 for full-time employees and $150 for part-time workers.

Joe Duffle, president of Local 1167 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, said in an interview that Albertsons is also installing the partitions in some of its stores. So far, that process has not been confirmed by an Albertsons’ spokesperson.

Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions are all owned by hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management.

As essential businesses, supermarkets have remained open throughout the escalating shelter-in-place and closure orders from local and state agencies. In response to those orders, they’ve been inundated with panicked shoppers who clear the shelves daily, putting cashiers, baggers, floor clerks and other employees on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some say the sanitation efforts by supermarket bosses might be too little too late.

A cashier who works at two Vons stores in coastal cities in Los Angeles County said Friday, March 20 was the first day the company mandated hourly cleaning around the cash registers and in other parts of the store.

The employee, who requested anonymity fearing retribution, said even with those mandated clean-ups, there was just one box of gloves for the store’s entire staff.

“I have easily served more than 1,000 people with nothing to protect me until today,” the cashier said Friday. “And now we have one box of gloves? It’s shocking to me.”

Duffle, the president of the UFCW local that represents Inland Empire workers, said protecting workers from exposure is an issue that is very much on the table right now.

“The goal for us is to eliminate exposure,” Duffle said Friday. “The health and safety of our workers is our biggest concern, and ultimately it’s about the health and safety of our communities. We were on the phone with multiple employers all week, trying to get health and safety measures in place. Our members are on the front line.”

The union had been asking for shields to separate cashiers from customers, along with extra break time for workers to be able to wash their hands and wipe down key surfaces, Duffle said. He added that talks are progressing with other employers, including Stater Bros.

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Andrea Zinder, president of Orange County-based Local 324, said the UFCW is demanding all employers follow government guidance for all safety protocols. That includes making sure work stations are sanitized regularly and employees are able to wash hands every 30 minutes or whenever necessary.

At a Ralphs store in Riverside on Monday, all shopping carts were wiped with a disinfectant by a gloved-up employee before customers could take them into the store. Also, the floor at the cash registers were marked with X’s more than 6 feet apart, to keep people waiting from getting too close to each other.