Source: Juanma Domínguez / Getty
Beyond the medical personnel across the globe addressing the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus and spiking numbers of COVID-19, grocery store workers are also at risk as stores remain open. On Twitter, those affected by the changes in daily life brought on by the coronavirus spread are sharing photos of barren shelves and tips on how best to handle shopping in this time of crisis.
We scoured through the Twitterverse and found a number of users posting images of their respective grocery store shelves, and tips from former elected officials, ambassadors, and regular working-class folks who are all attempting to adjust to the new normal that the coronavirus situation has inspired. As some outlets have reported, food isn’t in short supply as much as disinfecting products but there is some scarcity in more densely populated areas.
Of course, there’s a ton of cynicism and many people lambasting hoarders along with tasteless virus-related jokes but we largely avoided that because nobody needs that right now. For the most part, citizens from around the world are joined together in their desire to combat the spread of coronavirus and to adjust to what could be weeks, if not months, of how to care for ourselves and our loved ones.
It goes without saying that the bravest people after first responders and medical personnel are the grocery store workers who are risking exposure to the virus in order to supply the people with goods. We also should give a strong salute to the truck drivers of the world delivering food and other necessary items to these establishments.
Check out the tweets below.
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Photo: Getty
1.
Even in South Carolina, where coronavirus panic has not hit as hard, shelves at grocery stores are bare where toilet paper and cleaning supplies once stood. pic.twitter.com/yEd8ihR9iQ
— Phoebe Adams (@PhoebeAdams98) March 14, 2020
2.
Buying the last rolls of paper towels in our local grocery store. I’ve never seen this before. Thank goodness Viva is nice and soft....my favorite paper towel ever!
— Shasta Rayne ⭐️ (@Shasta_Rayne) March 14, 2020
Hope everyone is safe and prepared for the days head. Your best defense against #coronavirus is to #WashYourHands pic.twitter.com/1FQJMuqZlg
3.
Even with the Coronavirus causing people to panic at the grocery stores nobody wants Baby Shark Cereal. pic.twitter.com/sV7OLhxQSt
— Daniel Victor (@slydanno70) March 14, 2020
4.
My local grocery store knows what's up #covid19Canada #coronavirus #coronapocalypse pic.twitter.com/4lqKnWwUl3
— Alex (@alexhegz) March 13, 2020
5.
6.
Friendly tip: For ppl standing in long lines among empty shelves at Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc. your local Asian grocery store may still be well stocked (ours was).
— Minh Lê (@bottomshelfbks) March 13, 2020
Bonus: you get to support local businesses that may be dealing w racist ripple effects of coronavirus fears. pic.twitter.com/8wCqFcWt0I
7.
Most shops closed in #SaudiArabia but supermarkets, groceries, pharmacies open, take-away restaurants open. These photos are from a well stocked #Riyadh @SparSaudi supermarket. #COVID2019 #coronavirus #corona pic.twitter.com/0wZ9PoLXCN
— Joost Reintjes (@JoostReintjes) March 17, 2020
8.
THANK YOU to everyone who works in a grocery store-they’re working non-stop to restock shelves. Helping people find stuff as fast as they unload it. All of you deserve a medal. #FridayThoughts #coronavirus #Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/8USoxk8XQ8
— Tiffany Alaniz (@TiffanyAlaniz) March 20, 2020
9.
Corona Quarantine: Day 3, fully stocked up the freezer with nutritious food because grocery stores are the limiting the amount of people in them! STAY SAFE EVERYONE #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/9BVWWfZbIF
— Pierce Gard (@PierceGardd) March 21, 2020
10.
#coronavirus Spain now under national emergency - no food at the grocery store but plenty of toilet paper... ready for a trade? pic.twitter.com/RLQZ2bql6k
— 🪶 Sara 🐚 (@SaraEnki) March 14, 2020
11.
THANK YOU! Please join us in taking a moment to appreciate and acknowledge people working at grocery stores and everyone else working hard to serve their communities during the novel coronavirus outbreak. https://t.co/uHDEJTgT9A #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/DZj6oRp2Bo
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 16, 2020
12.
THANK YOU to the grocery workers stocking shelves, bagging goods and running the cash register as people stock up in wake of the coronavirus. We appreciate the hard work! pic.twitter.com/K7GtQAA4Tc
— WCTV Eyewitness News (@WCTV) March 21, 2020
13.
Dam so no more groceries on sale till the Corona virus dies down. I was told WOW WOW @NYCMayorsOffice pic.twitter.com/WW7ShVYazN
— Mr.Dad (@Mr_Dad1029) March 21, 2020
14.
#ACHTUNG — Seen in #Germany: grocery store only allows entry with shopping carts, so that customers keep 1.5 meter distance at all times. Regular In-store announcements say that „panic buying not necessary“ and highlight importance of hand hygiene! #COVID_19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/YpRbIS10V8
— Andy Eckardt (@ameckardt) March 21, 2020
15.
16.
BREAKING: 250,000 @Safeway grocery workers across the country just got a raise! @UFCW is proud to stand up for all the brave grocery workers on front lines of #coronavirus helping families stay safe. #1u
— UFCW (@UFCW) March 20, 2020
All of these workers deserve a raise. https://t.co/XyzA5Nx51t pic.twitter.com/IjNVK9HE8a
17.
The government of Vietnam has responded to the #coronavirus pandemic by offering free and healthy meals for people in quarantine areas and free groceries and necessities for entire neighborhoods in lockdown. pic.twitter.com/y1ScRPamAf
— redfish (@redfishstream) March 13, 2020
18.
They say “EVERYONE” is freaking out about Coronavirus.
— Chicano Marine 🇲🇽🇺🇸🧩 (@kingsrush) March 14, 2020
Everyone? Really???
The bread is all gone, water bottles are gone, all the toilet paper is gone...
But there’s plenty of tortillas at the grocery stores.
So who’s freaking out again?
🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/UhYAWrii3S
19.
While the meat department has been emptied out at every grocery store, the spices and seasoning shelves are full. What does that tell you?? #CoronavirusUSA #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/rEkVMt5BKr
— Michael Kinney Media (@EyeAmTruth) March 20, 2020
20.
Supermarket employees are some of the heroes on the front lines of this pandemic. Please be courteous, thank them and bag your own groceries! #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/vVnMnupLFz
— GypsyHeart 🖤 (@GypsyHeart__) March 20, 2020
21.
What is the corona virus situation like where you live? I’m from Cali and they are starting to put a big emphasis on staying home so I went grocery shopping for supplies. I hope it will all last 2-4 weeks 😰 pic.twitter.com/FvEVmPX1Tl
— 𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚎⁷ ⟭⟬ 🏳️🌈 (@goldenvbts) March 21, 2020
22.
Coronavirus panic at the grocery store #humansandviruses pic.twitter.com/RbLmmolbnh
— Miao (@miao_hv) March 20, 2020
23.
The harsh reality of #coronavirus has left many families in need of essential groceries. APAG has distributed groceries bags to the needy, disabled & senior citizens in 5 Boroughs, Long Island & Upstate New York #PakistaniAmericans wants to serve the community in this tough times pic.twitter.com/9YMa4ipmen
— American Pakistani Advocacy Group (@APAGUSA) March 19, 2020
24.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to the grocery collection for the elderly that Fika coffeeshop has been organising. They have been blown away by the generosity of our local community in looking after those most vulnerable #community #keheela #carefortheelderly #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/NtYDVRjnMM
— King David High School (@KDHSLiverpool) March 20, 2020
25.
The line outside my grocery store - each person 2 meters away from the one before - waiting to enter. We received gloves upon entering... #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/BHiNuYY6Xa
— Laura Ben-David (@LauraBenDavd) March 20, 2020
26.
The cost of hoarding is greater than your grocery bill.#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Hami5CzXHH
— 👑 (@ErinADarling) March 16, 2020
27.
This is the line of trucks queuing up outside the Smith’s grocery distribution center in Henderson, just outside of Las #Vegas. Surreal. Stop panic buying. Buy what you need! #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/VaOtRHS6A7
— Elliot Anderson (@ElliotAndersonv) March 17, 2020
28.
Great to see more grocery stores holding special hours for seniors and at risk individuals. Everyone needs to do this (if they can). #coronavirus #covidbc pic.twitter.com/NPcuCdSXt2
— Farhan Mohamed (@farhanmohamed) March 17, 2020
29.
So for anyone who still needs to do grocery shopping, try checking different ethnic markets. The Mexican grocery down the street from us is like, fully stocked on everything, it's nuts. #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/r9HBldokBJ
— Ark the Pie King (@PieArk) March 17, 2020
30.
Grocery stores are low on toilette paper here too 🧻
— Amina Motala💫 (@AminaMotala_) March 18, 2020
But food shelves seem full 🙄#coronavirus #COVID19 #Ottawa#cryptonomads 🌎 pic.twitter.com/klZFbRomW5