Publix Limits Sanitizer Purchases, Halts Food Samples In Stores

ATLANTA, GA — Publix grocery stores have stopped offering food samples because of the coronavirus, and limited how much hand sanitizer can be purchased, the company confirmed to Patch. Publix headquarters in Lakeland, Florida, said it set the limits as stores sell out of sanitizing products in the wake of concerns about the spread of the virus.

Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous said the grocery store chain is placing limits on various sanitizing products as well as face masks, gloves and disposable plates, cups and eating utensils.

As store shelves empty, Publix is limiting customer purchases to two of the following items:

• Hand soap
• Hand sanitizer
• Rubbing alcohol
• Face masks
• Gloves
• Disinfectant wipes and sprays
• Tissues
• Disposable cups, plates and eating utensils
• Bleach

In addition to the purchase limits, Publix announced it will discontinue food sampling.

"Out of an abundance of caution and consideration for the health and safety of our valued customers, we will discontinue, until further notice, our Aprons sampling, as well as all other staffed and unstaffed demos in our stores," according to a statement released by Publix.

Costco discount warehouse stores also announced that it is temporarily discontinuing its popular food samplings over safety concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
Trader Joe's will continue to distribute food samples but, instead of placing samples on a single platter that allows customers to choose their own, the store will distribute samples individually as customers request them.

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4 More Potential GA Coronavirus Cases Brings Total To 6

The Georgia Department of Public Health is awaiting confirmatory testing on the four new presumptive positive tests for COVID-19 in the Georgia residents. Testing was completed Sunday at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory and the results have been submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for verification.

One person is from Fulton County, another person is from Cherokee County, and the other two individuals are from Cobb County, but they have no connection to each other. All the individuals are hospitalized, and the sources of their infections are not known, the Georgia Department of Public Health.

With the addition of these four presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, there are now six presumptive positives pending confirmatory testing by CDC and five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia.

The most recent confirmed cases were in Cobb, Fulton and Floyd counties, while a sixth case in Gwinnett County is presumed positive for the respiratory disease, but still awaiting confirmation.

Globally, more than 113,000 people have been infected and 3,996 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Monday afternoon. Of that total, more than 80,000 confirmed cases are in China, while the entire United States has 607 confirmed cases as of Monday afternoon. There have been 22 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.