NJ Wawas Set Aside Hour For At-Risk Shoppers Amid Coronavirus

NEW JERSEY — All Wawa stores in New Jersey will designate an hour each day for shoppers at high risk of the new coronavirus. Wawa asked that all other customers avoid the store from 2-3 p.m. each day while high-risk individuals shop.

The change came shortly after Governor Phil Murphy ordered all shoppers in essential businesses to wear a face mask. Read more: NJ Shoppers Must Wear Masks: Where To Get Them, How It's Enforced

All Wawa employees in New Jersey will wear masks, and the stores will feature prominent signage reminding everyone to wear masks.

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Although essential businesses such as Wawa have taken precautions to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, there is always some risk. A Wawa store in Cherry Hill temporarily closed Wednesday after a worker tested positive for the virus.

Employees in at least 36 different ShopRite locations have tested positive for the virus, according to nj.com. A Trader Joe's worker in New York, a greeter at a Giant store in Maryland, and two Walmart employees from the same Chicago-area store have died from COVID-19, the Washington Post reports.

Wawa announced last month that it would shut down self-serve drinks, individually bag bakery items and deep clean each day. Wawa also began providing free coffee to health-care workers and first responders.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know