Next to health-care providers, no workforce has proved more essential during the novel coronavirus pandemic than the 3 million U.S.
grocery store employees who restock shelves and freezers, fill online orders and keep checkout lines moving. Sara Zendehnam reports Every day, grocery workers are restocking toilet paper, eggs, produce and canned goods as fast as the items fly off the shelves.
They disinfect keypads, freezer handles and checkout counters as hundreds of people weave around them, sometimes standing too close for comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Some work for hours behind clear plastic barriers installed at checkout counters, bulwarks against sudden sneezes or coughs that can propel germs.