A spot check at a North Side H-E-B Plus Store on Friday suggests that customers are following suggestions that only one person per household shop at a time to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“To the extent that it’s possible, only one person needs to come from a family to shop,” said Julie Bedingfield, an H-E-B spokesperson.
This request comes as local officials work to curb the spread of the virus across the state.
“If you come to the store, don’t come with your entire family,” said president of H-E-B, Scott McClelland. "I was in the store yesterday and because people are bored they’re like, “Hey, let’s all go to the grocery store.' So, a family of six showed up. Send one person, that way you lessen the ability for the virus to spread.”
Bedingfield also noted that the purchase of certain items is limited.
“We do use product limits,” she said. “You’ll see those throughout this pandemic.”
Bedingfield said product shortages are highly unlikely.
“We’re very prepared for the long term,” she said. “We have great relationships with our suppliers and vendors.”
Store hours at the more than 400 H-E-B stores statewide are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to allow time for employees to restock shelves.
“For many years, H-E-B has been in the disaster relief game,” Bedingfield said. “But this is a very different situation than a natural disaster, like a hurricane or tornado.”
Bedingfield said H-E-B is ready.
“We’ve been preparing for this since news first began coming out of China in January," she said.
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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