We’ve never seen it this bad. COVID cases in the United States are skyrocketing. Last Friday, a record-breaking 181,000 new cases inundated hospitals across the country. The experts say winter will be grim, and the nation will become one big coronavirus hotspot. It’s because of these dire circumstances that stores across the nation are limiting purchases on certain items again.
Stores Limiting Toilet Paper Purchases & More
According to Newsweek, purchase limits are being placed on items customers need most, such as bath and paper products. Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the country, and owners of such popular chains as Ralphs and Food 4 Less, has placed purchase limits on paper towels, disinfecting wipes, hand soap, toilet paper, and other essential household products. The limits are in place both in-store and online.
“To ensure all customers have access to what they need, we’ve proactively and temporarily set purchase limits to two per customer on certain products,” a Kroger spokesperson told Fox Business.
Newsweek reports that some supermarkets have placed limits on cleaning products as well. One of those markets is Harris Teeter, a chain that operates 260 stores in the South Atlantic states.
“We’ll continue to monitor the situation,” a Harris Teeter spokesperson told Fox Business, “and if we see a need, we may re-introduce limits to other items.”
Not all stores are particularly worried. CNN spoke with Christopher Brand, a spokesperson for Giant, a grocery chain in the Northeast. Brand said he wasn’t seeing any stockpiling so far, and that “there is no need to create panic.”
Still, Giant has imposed purchase limits. At a Giant store, you can only buy one package of larger size toilet paper and one package of larger size paper towels. You can buy four each of the smaller sizes.
CNN reports that, according to a survey of 1,000 shoppers conducted by market research firm Inmar Intelligence, nearly 60% of shoppers say they’re going to stock up in anticipation of the winter COVID surge.
Related Stories
Toilet Paper Tracker: See How Long Your Stash Will Last
How to Report Coronavirus Price Gouging
Monitoring Coronavirus Temperature: Why 98.6 Isn’t “Normal”
Stores Limiting Purchases — Sources
Newsweek
CNN
Fox Business
The New York Times