Giant joins Wegmans in limiting number of store customers

Giant Food Stores will limit the number of customers in its stores to allow social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

The company will start limiting customers Monday, according to a news release. The number allowed in the supermarket at one time will vary by location and will be based on store occupancy and size.

Giant joins a number of other retailers that have done something similar to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Wegmans, which has three Lehigh Valley locations, is operating its stores at 15% to 20% of maximum occupancy, the chain said in a news release Thursday. Area shoppers reported long lines Saturday outside the Wegmans in Hanover Township, Northampton County.

Giant, which has more than a dozen Lehigh Valley locations, also is requesting that customers have just one member per household make the shopping trip.

“This pandemic has reaffirmed the critical role grocery plays in our local communities, and we appreciate our customers’ cooperation as we implement additional measures to help keep both them and our team members safe,” Nicholas Bertram, Giant president, said in the release.

A Giant staff member will be stationed at the front entrance of each store to track shopper flow. When a store is at capacity, customers will form a line outside, while following social distancing practices. As customers leave the store, new customers will be let in.

Other policies during the coronavirus pandemic include designating special shopping hours for older and immunocompromised individuals and requiring all Giant employees to wear face shields and masks.

Outside of supermarkets, home improvement store chains Lowe’s and The Home Depot, which each have several area locations, also have limited the number of customers in a store at a time.

— Jacqueline Palochko

beer while doing her part to “flatten the curve“on the coronavirus pandemic.

Olive Veronesi posed in the window of her Seminole home with a dry erase board that read “I NEED MORE BEER!!” while holding a can of Coors Light, KDKA-TV reported.

The image has been widely shared and has been seen by over a million people on the KDKA Facebook page.

The station reports that several people have reached out to help Veronesi get more beer.