Experts debate if ‘senioronly’ hours prevent the elderly from getting virus

Grocery stores across the country are looking more like scenes from doomsday movies - with their empty shelves, ransacked stands and wipedout canned goods aisles - as people isolate themselves indoors to flatten the curve. Some grocers and retailers grew concerned that fear-based shoppers could endanger elderly customers and have implemented custom hours for seniors, even as experts debate whether such a move would prevent the vulnerable from contracting the virus.

Dollar General and Stop and Shop will open their doors early just to seniors and those with compromised immune systems, the companies announced.

The seniors-only hour kicked off at Dollar General locations on Tuesday. Stop and Shop rolls out the plan on Thursday. Dollar General’s first opening hour will be dedicated to seniors. Stop and Shop stores will serve customers 60 and older between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.

Dollar General wants to help seniors shop in a less busy environment, said company spokeswoman Crystal Ghassemi. “We want to make sure that, just given their higher susceptibility to the virus, that it gives them an opportunity to have a little bit more pleasant shopping experience,” she said.

Older adults and people with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk of contracting covid-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early data from China CDC indicated the virus can be fatal for older adults, especially those older than 80.

The special senior hours at both stores are meant to provide a safe environment for older customers and immune-compromised consumers, but experts question how protective the environments really are.

Not all grocers are following the path of Dollar General and Stop and Shop. H-E-B, a San Antonio-based grocery store with hundreds of locations throughout Texas and northeastern Mexico, told CNN that it will not have such an hour, based on recommendations from health officials.

“We feel asking a group to congregate at our stores in a certain time frame is not a safe idea,” the company told the news outlet in a statement.