MEDFORD, Ore. – After the first coronavirus case was confirmed in the state, crowds of people flocked to stores over the weekend to better protect themselves.
Now, one supermarket is working to restock shelves after selling out of multiple items.
“It was a busy weekend,” said Sherm’s Food 4 Less Store Director Jared Mulhollen. “They definitely found the cleaning aisle yesterday.”
Some of the shelves at Sherm’s Food 4 Less in Medford Monday were looking a bit bare Monday morning.
“We really saw the lift on Saturday, it seems to be when it really popped off. Obviously they hit us hard this weekend,” Mulhollen explained.
Those empty shelves acting as a testament for growing concerns over COVID-19 or coronavirus.
After more cases were reported in Oregon over the weekend, people flocked to the stores, buying out disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizers, and even face masks.
Although this kind of business is unusual for this time of the year, Mulhollen said it’s not something they haven’t seen before. “Whether its Y2K or a big snowstorm, it happens. You get lifts in different things and we just have to be prepared for everything,” he said.
So how can you protect yourself from the coronavirus? Well, you can get rid of your face masks. Officials say you don’t need it. You’ll want to head to your grocery store or supermarket and find the cleaning aisle. Once there, you likely want to grab soap, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizers, if you can find it.
Shoppers at Costco said employees told them the superstore had double the amount of business as usual over the weekend and were running out of water bottles and toilet paper. Even stores in Portland are running out of certain supplies.
Mulholland said when unusual things like this happen, the store can react quickly. He said this is due to the company’s 100,000 square-foot warehouse that houses 5,000 items in it.
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