US supermarket throws out food items worth $35,000 after woman 'deliberately' coughs on them

Food items worth $35,000 were discarded from a grocery store in Pennsylvania after a woman intentionally coughed on them. Since coronavirus is spread from the droplets released by an infected person, grocery chain Gerrity’s Supermarket in Hanover Township dumped the items that the woman coughed on. [caption id=“attachment_154436” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] A report by CNN mentioned police chief Albert Walker saying that the staff of the grocery store removed her and informed about the incident to Hanover Township Police. The police traced the woman a few hours later and took her into custody. The police said that they plan to file criminal charge against her for intentionally contaminating the food. The charges will be slapped after checking her mental health status, they added. Joe Fasula, co-owner of the grocery store, wrote on Facebook that the officials do not believe that the woman was infected with coronavirus but “will make every effort to see that she is tested.” The store also took the help of a local health inspector to identify and disinfect the areas where she entered. “I am 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,” Fasula said. The incident comes amid fears that large scale hoarding of supplies by the general public could soon dry up the US food supply chain.