MORRISONS has become the latest supermarket to extend its opening times.

The retailer, which has introduced social distancing measures outside all of its stores, said branches will be open for longer from today to reduce wait times and make way for "quieter shopping times".

Branches will open at 7am Monday to Saturday - and will close at 8pm each night.

On Sundays, stores will open at 9:30am and close at 4pm. 

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The grocer's hours will be extended further for NHS workers who continue to have priority access to all stores from 6am to 7am Monday to Saturday.

The first 30 minutes of trading every Sunday will also be dedicated to frontline healthcare workers.

The move follows in the footsteps of Aldi, which will extend its opening times from Tuesday.

The German discounter - which has also relaxed its stockpiling restrictions - said the new hours are thanks to a combination of thousands of new recruits and a slowdown in panic-buying.

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In a statement, Aldi said customers no longer need to queue in the early hours of the morning as stock levels are now consistent.

"Our shelves are now well stocked throughout the day, so there is no need to visit stores first thing in the morning," an Aldi spokeswoman said.

>> SEE ALSO: Tesco making changes to UK stores this week

Aldi has also lifted restrictions on almost all products, except thee key items.

Hand sanitiser, shower gel and UHT (long-life) milk remain limited to just two per customer.

However, the company has scrapped limits on canned foods, bread and more, after a fortnight of chaos.

In a statement the supermarket chain said: "The relaxing of purchase limits follows a return to stable levels of trading and good availability across all Aldi stores."

NHS workers and the elderly will continue to have priority access to all stores during the first 30 minutes of trading from Monday to Saturday.

And in recognition of their hard work, all staff will receive a 10 per cent bonus as they continue to work around the clock to maintain the nation's access to food.

The grocer said the pay boost is to recognise that employees have been "working tirelessly throughout this extremely busy time" as coronavirus continues to spread through large parts of the country.

Aldi said the extra money will be backdated to March 9, 2020 and will be paid to both store and distribution staff.