COVID-19 is starting to take a deadly toll on grocery store workers


States and local governments have a patchwork of social distancing rules to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, but all of them include supermarkets and grocery stores in the list of essential services exempt from closure. Now, "major supermarket chains are beginning to report their first coronavirus-related employee deaths, leading to store closures and increasing anxiety among grocery workers as the pandemic intensifies across the country," The Washington Post reports.
Grocery stores are looking to hire thousands of temporary workers to meet the sharp rise in demand from homebound customers, and even with the promise of hardship pay, gloves, make, and hand sanitizer, the deaths will likely give pause to potential hires. "One of the biggest mistakes supermarkets made early on was not allowing employees to wear masks and gloves the way they wanted to," supermarket analyst Phil Lempert told the Post. "We're going to start seeing people say, 'I'll just stay unemployed instead of risking my life for a temporary job.'"
The Post confirmed four deaths as of Monday: A Trader Joe's employee in Scarsdale, New York; two Walmart workers at the same store in Evergreen Park, Illinois, outside Chicago, in late March; and a 27-year-old greeter at a Giant supermarket in Largo, Maryland, who died last week. The Giant greeter, Leilani Jordan, "said, 'Mommy, I'm going to work because no one else is going to help the senior citizens get their groceries,'" her mother, Zenobia Shepherd, told the Post. "She only stopped going to work when she could no longer breathe."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In theory, a pandemic that forces people to stay home and threatens grocery store workers who have to interact with hundreds of customers is "the perfect moment for online grocery services," The Associated Press reports. "In practice, they've been struggling to keep up with a surge in orders, highlighting their limited ability to respond to an unprecedented onslaught of demand."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The genetic secrets of South Korea's female free-divers
Under The Radar Unique physiology of 'real-life mermaid' haenyeo women could help treat chronic diseases
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autism
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine