Virus fears prompt supermarket sweeps as officials express concern for local economy
Less than 12 hours after the Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed the first official COVID-19 case in the state, local citizens already began shopping for essential items.
At only 10:30 a.m., the Kroger and Walmart Supercenter on Highway 12 were flooded with shoppers purchasing non-perishable food items, paper products and disinfectants. Currently, the local Kroger, Walmart Supercenter, Neighborhood Walmart and Vowells are out of stock of hand sanitizer.
While all local stores are currently stocking most items, the shelves housing paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning supplies were noticeably bare.
Nearly every shopper had these items in their cart among their other goods.
Mississippi State University junior Hayley Meriwether was purchasing disinfectant alongside her other groceries but said she was not concerned about the virus affecting her health.
“I have never gotten the flu, and I eat pretty healthy, so it doesn't really bother me,” Meriwether said. “I just don't want to take it home to my grandparents. That's the only thing I am worried about.”
Similarly, Starkville resident Niles Mcneel said he was not worried about the virus despite being older.
“I am not overly concerned about it,” Mcneel said. “It is serious, but I am not worried. However, I do think there is a feeling that we need to buy things up, and that feeling is only increasing.”
Tracy Mccully, a local resident and MSU basketball fan, expressed her irritation over the virus affecting the NCAA women's basketball tournament, an event already purchased tickets for but has since been closed to the public.
Mccully, like many other sports fans, was distraught by the on-going string of sporting event cancelations at MSU.
“I think this has gotten way out of
“Such changes will have an immediate and direct impact to the entire business community and our local economy, especially the retail and hospitality sectors” hand,” Mccully said. “I mean, if you use common sense and wash your hands, you should be fine, but good lord this is too much. I understand why they are doing this, but enough is enough. If you are going to get it, you are going to get it regardless. I am not on a train or plane where they recirculate the air, and I am not on a cruise ship.”
In a press release Thursday, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership addressed the myriad changes in local programming and how these will have a direct impact on the local economy.
“Such changes will have an immediate and direct impact to the entire business community and our local economy, especially the retail and hospitality sectors,” said Mike Tagert, GSDP president and chief executive officer.
Though the GSDP said all events planned will remain on the schedule, they will evaluate impending events on a case-by-case basis.
Outside of the event cancelation those employed in the city are equally concerned about how the virus will impact their work.
Candy Tranum, the lifestyle coordinator at Montgomery Gardens Senior Living, said it is important people treat this seriously and take precautions for their health, as well as others' health.
“I just hope everyone will follow the rules and stay quarantined if they are supposed to,” Tranum said. “The decisions one person makes can have a lasting impact on other people's health.”
Before MSU had announced their plans to move classes online following the extension of spring break by one week, Tranum voiced her support for the potential decision.
“My kids are at Mississippi State, and I hope they do go online,” Tranum said. “I feel like if we can keep people further away from each other, it will help prevent the spread of the virus because it's going to spread.”
MSU employee Sirsandra Jordan was shopping for emergency supplies to stock the MSU president's home and lamented the impact the virus has had on her personal travel plans.
“I had a trip planned to Miami and was flying out tomorrow to attend Jazz in the Gardens, and we had to cancel it because we was flying out of Atlanta and flying into Fort Lauderdale,” Jordan said. “We had our condos and our tickets. We are losing a total of $825 each.”
Though disgruntled from having to cancel her trip, Jordan said she supports a potential shutdown, seeing it as the only means to keep the virus from spreading further.
“I think it requires the two week mandated shutdown to get this thing under control because the threat that is out right now is scaring everybody, and there is a panic going on,” Jordan said. “I am doing this for the president, and then, I will be right back in here with a shopping basket for myself.”