SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 6, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — There is no need to stock up on surplus bottled water due to Coronavirus.
That’s the word from The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) which issued a statement Friday telling Utahns that their drinking water is safe.
“Drinking water treatment and disinfection has effectively protected Utah’s population for many decades. These protections will safeguard residents against drinking-water-borne viral infections—including coronavirus,” says Marie Owens, Director of DEQ’s Division of Drinking Water. “There is no need for residents to stock up on surplus bottled water in preparation for a potential outbreak of coronavirus.”
The DEQ’s statement comes on the heels of hoarding at a number of Utah stores and grocery outlets. Concerned consumers have been snapping up bottled water, toilet paper, hand cleaners, bleach, and other household disinfectants. They’re also buying cold and flu medicine.
Smith’s Stores announced this week that they would begin limiting the number of flu and cold related products customers can buy at once, including cleaning products.
“Attention Customers: Due to high demand and to support all customers, we will be limiting the number of Sanitization, Cold and Flu related products to 5 each per order. Your order may be modified at time of pickup or delivery.”
The food distribution giant Kroger’s, owners of Smith’s and other grocery outlets, said it was prepared to help its customers overcome the coronavirus challenge.
“The health and well-being of our associates, our customers and our communities is our top priority. As such, we have formed a task force to activate our pandemic preparedness plan and monitor every situation.
This work, like all the work we do, is guided by our values and our promise. To that end, we will seek to make the decisions that balance the safety of our associates with the commitments to our customers and communities.
Preparedness is in our DNA – our store teams regularly manage through severe events, for example, and our teams are always well-prepared to be there when our customers need it most. Especially in times of uncertainty, we believe everyone deserves to have access to affordable fresh food.”
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
