Toilet paper shelves empty at Medicine Hat Walmart March 9, 2020 (photo courtesy Tiffany Goodwein)

By Chantal Wagner

Covid Worries

Residents react to COVID-19 while businesses take precautions

Mar 10, 2020 | 5:07 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It appears business as usual at the Medicine Hat Mall, but if you look closer there are signs COVID-19 is being taken very seriously.

In the food court, restaurants have removed all self-serve items from counters and are handing out condiments when requested instead.

And some are not accepting reusable cups to avoid spreading COVID-19 and other cold and flu viruses.

Sign posted at Medicine Hat Mall food court (photo courtesy Ross Lavigne)

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Grocery stores are also taking precautions to reduce the spread of the virus.

Manager of Family Foods in Redcliff Sue MacInnis says they are wiping down grocery carts, baskets, and bank machines.

“So we sanitize the belts here. And then we have the staff using disinfecting wipes these Compliment ones. They’re actually sold out everywhere too so they’re really hard to come by.”

Fears of COVID-19 have resulted in a frenzy of people stocking up on toilet paper.

The toilet paper shelves were empty at Medicine Hat’s Costco on Tuesday, with just a few packs of paper towels left.

Chat News spoke to an employee and they said the toilet paper sold out after 11 this morning and 2 O’clock yesterday, with people taking up to 6 packages.

And there was no toilet paper to be seen at the local Walmart on Monday night.

But so far, residents are not concerned when Chat News spoke to locals.

“I’m not worried. What happens, happens basically you know there’s not much a person can really do about it so panicking isn’t going to help anything.”

“We haven’t really stocked up on a lot of goods or anything but we have a fair bit at home. So we’re not too worried right now.”

“I think it’s just blown way out of proportion. I do wipe off handles of carts that’s the only thing but I would do that normally.”

“I’m not concerned at all, I think everything’s blown a little bit out of proportion.”

Alberta Health Services still encourage to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water to stay healthy.

And MacInnis agrees, “Proper hygiene people, if you’re sick stay home, you know use your common sense and we’ll get through this like everything else.”

There are now 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alberta, and all of them are travel-related according to the provincial government.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says all cases are travel related.

“They involve a range of ages and travel locations outside of Canada. This includes travelers returning from France, the Netherlands, Egypt, Iran, Taiwan, Germany, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, the Philippines, and the United States. Many travelers visited more than one country on their trip. One individual was on the same MS Braemar cruise ship in the Caribbean as a case announced yesterday.”

But says it’s too early to know where each person contracted the virus.

Three of the new cases are from the Edmonton zone and the other four new cases are from the Calgary zone.

As part of Alberta’s COVID-19 response, public health teams are already identifying and notifying anyone who came into close contact with these individuals.

The government says the risk level in Alberta is currently low, though this may change in the coming weeks.