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Asda is adding an extra 300,000 home delivery slots to its website - equivalent to 40,000 a day, to help manage orders during the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 700,000 slots will now be released a week, up from around 400,000 a fortnight ago, Mirror Money has learnt.

Following a recruitment drive, the store said it now has 5,000 more store pickers, drivers and in store workers to keep shelves replenished for shoppers and those ordering from home during the lockdown period.

The chain's 24-hour stores are now being closed every day for six hours from 12am to 6am, so as to allow staff time to restock supplies.

Its larger stores are also offering priority hours for NHS workers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am to 9am.

Speaking to Mirror Money, the grocer said it has increased total delivery slots to 700,000 a week, split evenly daily.

Online shoppers now face an average wait of two weeks for a delivery slot.

"We're absolutely committed to supporting the effort to feed the nation wherever we can," the supermarket explained.

"In addition to working around the clock to keep our shelves stocked and deliveries moving, we have also been working with Government and some of our fellow supermarkets to ensure those people who have been identified as highly vulnerable get what they need and are protected from Covid-19.

"We have a dedicated team who will work with Government on the available data to support as many extremely vulnerable people as we can - whilst also continuing to ensure our stores are stocked and our deliveries are moving for millions of customers nationwide.

"We're doing all we can - and would continue to urge customers who are able to visit shops to think of how they can support others in their community and if they can shop for them - allowing us to maximise our online capacity for those who need it most.’

In an effort to help provide food for those most in need, Asda has today launched a 'volunteer shopping card' to give those in self-isolation a contact-free way to allow others to collect and pay for their weekly shop.

The scheme has been designed to create a 'contact free' and safe way for people to provide funds to those shopping on their behalf and creates mechanism for the millions of volunteers across the country, including the 750,000 volunteers that have signed up to help the NHS.

Customers can buy a 'volunteer shopping card' online which they can top up with up to £150 worth of credit. Volunteers can then use to buy essential groceries.

Roger Burnley, chief executive of Asda, said: "We are continuing to work around the clock to look for new ways to support communities through COVID-19. Over the last two weeks we’ve brought in over 50 million core essentials for our customers. We have also made over 37,000 deliveries to our stores, ensuring our shops are safe and well stocked for our customers to visit.

"We are working with DEFRA on ensuring the most vulnerable in society have access to food, as well as encouraging those who can shop in stores to do so – so that we can focus our growing online capacity on those who do need to stay indoors.

"We know that many people are relying on others in this time of need, and it is amazing to see how the country has come together and so many volunteers are giving their time to help others, so we wanted to help make it easier for them with this simple payment solution."