Columbus, MS — Courtesy of the Dispatch

This past Monday, Columbus Mayor Robert Smith sent out letters to many food stores in the city explaining some new, tighter safety regulations that have been put in place in order to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. All food store employees must now wear masks and other protection gear while working within six feet of customers. Stores also need to set up measuring markers and signage to remind customers to keep six feet from each other. While many stores were already doing these things, others had to scramble to comply by the end of Tuesday’s deadline.

“It was refreshing to hear that … the store is taking serious measures in following the federal guidelines as well as the city of Columbus,” said Joe Murphy, a shopper at Sunflower.

“They are around more people than we (are),” shopper Paula Fuller said. “It makes you feel safer.”

“I feel just a little bit safer,” shopper Donna Gainer said.

On the other hand, not all customers are happy about the more stringent precautions. One customer remarked that he felt that “(The government is) making a big deal and they are scaring people.”

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=80673

Photo: Steve Gao holds a bag of hamburger buns as he leaves Sunflower Food Store on Military Road Tuesday afternoon – Photo by Yue Stella Yu, Dispatch Staff