Outbreak of Coronavirus Leaves Oxford Store Shelves Bare

The store shelves that once held Hand Sanitizer are now empty. Photo by Marissa McCardell.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, many people are doing what they can to prevent the spread of this virus. As people stock up on hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial products, many local stores are left with empty shelves, and that includes the pharmacy on the Ole Miss campus.

“We’re getting low. We’ve been pretty stocked up but we are running low. A lot of people are asking about masks and hand sanitizer so we pretty much are all sold out,” said Ole Miss pharmacist Chad Westmorland.

Students and faculty have been encouraged to clean surfaces with disinfectant wipes and sprays such as Lysol and Clorox.

“These are usually recommended for hard surfaces like your steering wheel and door handles to wipe those down probably every six to eight hours,” said Westmorland. “It’s a pretty frequent thing because it can spread and so it’s recommended to several times a day wipe down all those types of things.”

The outbreak of this newest coronavirus has not only caught the eye of health professionals but also students.

“I still need to be cautious about it because I don’t want to take any chances. I always make sure I wash my hands, try not to touch my face or anything after I touch something in like classrooms or wherever I am,” said Ole Miss freshman Hannah Johnson.

With Spring Break right around the corner, travelers should also take note and avoid hand to face contact, should wash their hands frequently and limit time out in public if possible.

“In the airport I would obviously be more cautious. I would make sure if you are riding around on a subway or anything like that, try not to touch anything,” Westmorland said.

Story contributed by Marissa McCardell (mkmccard@go.olemiss.edu) and Erin Donaldson
(ehdonal1@go.olemiss.edu).