Given the state of emergency in which we’re all living, never has hygiene been more important. We’re all staying in more, only venturing out when necessary like to grab groceries, and we’re keeping our distance from one another to avoid contracting or spreading illness. However, one woman in Pennsylvania believed it would be a funny “prank” to cough all over fresh food in a local supermarket, costing the shop more than $35,000 when they had to throw it all away.
- It happened at Gerrity’s Supermarket on Hanover Township. Posting on the company’s Facebook page on Wednesday, March 25, Gerrity’s revealed that a woman who was “known to be a chronic problem in the community” had entered the store and proceeded to “purposely cough” on their fresh produce as well as products in the meat and bakery department. What is wrong with people?!
- They described the incident as a “twisted prank.” While store management didn’t necessarily believe the woman was physically ill, there was no way they could take any chances of infecting their other customers. They worked with the local health inspector to identify every area of the store the woman was in so that they could properly treat the area.
- They were forced to toss more than $35,000 of fresh food. In order to protect their customers, Gerrity’s had to throw away all products in every area of the store in which the woman had been coughing and then thoroughly clean and disinfect the areas. It’s a major blow for the small supermarket, who wrote, “Although we have not yet quantified the total loss, we estimate the value to be well over $35,000. We are checking to see if our insurance company will cover it, but even if they do, our rates will surely go up next year,” they wrote. “I am also absolutely sick to my stomach about the loss of food. While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing.”
- The police were called and hopefully the woman will be prosecuted. The case has been referred to the district attorney’s office and since it seems likely that the woman’s identity is already known to police, it seems likely they’ll be able to locate her and potentially prosecute her. This is absolutely appalling behavior and inexcusable at any time, especially now. Let’s hope she can be stopped before she does something similar or worse.
