NYC Whole Foods Start Shopper Limits As Coronavirus Precaution

NEW YORK, NY — Whole Foods has started limiting capacity at its stores to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, letting in as little as 50 people at a time in at least one New York City location.

A spokesperson with the grocery chain confirmed Wednesday that "social distancing guidelines" at all of its stores and facilities would limit the number of people that could be inside at one time. The limits are different based on each store's size, the spokesperson said.

"We are operating under social distancing guidelines in our stores and facilities, including limiting capacity based on store size to ensure that interactions between team members and among team members and customers can happen at the recommended distance," Casey Warnick told Patch.

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Warnick did not immediately respond to questions about what those capacity limits are for each of New York City's 13 Whole Food's locations, but for at least one branch the shopper limit has been set at 50 people, according to the New York Post.

A security guard at the Bowery location on East Houston Street told the Post that the regulation for 50 people at a time began around 1 p.m. Tuesday. The restriction had already created a line of about 75 shoppers outside the store waiting to get in, the Post reported.

A similar line formed at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods, according to the Post.

The shopper limit is one of several precautions against COVID-19 that Whole Foods has taken since the pandemic began.

Last week, the grocery chain began "senior-only hours" at all of its locations in the country, meaning shoppers over the age of 60 can visit the stores one hour before they open to the public.

Whole Foods has also changed its hours, closed all self-serve and hot bars, increased the hand sanitizer available in its stores and suspended its return policy in response to the coronavirus, according to their website.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, there were 15,597 positive coronavirus cases, 192 fatalities, 2,850 people hospitalized and 660 in the ICU in New York City, according to the Mayor's office.