Coronavirus: How leading grocery chains are responding to keep customers safe and shelves stocked
SN updates what retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Publix and others are doing as COVID-19 spreads across U.S.
March 13, 2020
With the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) officially becoming a global pandemic this week, grocery retailers of all stripes stepped up efforts to get the word out to customers and employees about the measures they’re taking in response.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on March 11 announced that COVID-19 reached pandemic level as the number of worldwide cases soared over 100,000 and the virus’ incidence outside China, the origin of the outbreak, increased thirteenfold.
As of noon Eastern time on March 13, global confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 132,536 in 123 countries, areas and territories, with 4,947 deaths. China still by far had the most confirmed cases at 80,981, followed by Italy (15,113), Iran (10,075) and South Korea (7,979). Most recently, reported cases have proliferated in Europe, climbing to 2,965 in Spain, 2,860 in France and 2,369 in Germany.
WHO reported 1,264 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States through noon Eastern time on March 13. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through March 12, had 1,215 confirmed and presumptive-positive cases of coronavirus in 42 states and the District of Columbia, with 36 total deaths. States with the most reported cases are Washington (366), New York (217), California (175) and Massachusetts (95), according to the CDC. The virus' rapid advance led the Trump administration on Friday to declare coronavirus a national emergency.
In the U.S., consumer concern escalated with the rising number of coronavirus cases and media reports of community containment zones in Washington and New York, as well as widespread school closings, business conference and entertainment event cancellations, airline flight cutbacks, tourist destination shutdowns, postponements by pro sports leagues and drop-offs in public transit use — not to mention news that actors Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were diagnosed with COVID-19 and quarantined in Australia.
Shoppers, too, have continued to raid supermarkets, mass merchant and other retail stores to stock up on essential food and health products and emergency supplies, leaving shelves bare for such items as hand sanitizer, face masks and disposable gloves, disinfectant wipes, bathroom tissue, paper towels, dry groceries and shelf-stable beverages.
Retailers, meanwhile, have responded with purchase limits on high-demand items, assurances against price gouging, and more stringent cleaning in stores, as well as guidelines urging employees not feeling well to stay home and for those coming to work to exercise safe hygiene practices, namely keeping their hands clean.