H-E-B limiting number of hand soap, disinfecting products amid coronavirus concerns

Grocery giant puts limit of four units for each product

The logo of H-E-B is seen outside of a store in Houston in this undated file photo. (KPRC)

SAN ANTONIO – H-E-B is limiting the amount of disinfectant products customers can purchase as fear of the coronavirus outbreak continues in Texas and around the nation.

The San Antonio-based grocery giant said the limit was placed so customers can find the items they need amid the high demand.

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Customers will be limited to four items of each disinfectant product, including disinfecting sprays, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and hand soap, per transaction, Julie Bedingfield, a public affairs representative for H-E-B, told KSAT.

“H-E-B is committed to having products available to customers who need them,” she said. “Limits are part of H-E-B being prepared and ensuring our customers are able to find what they need.”

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H-E-B will let the public know when the limits have been lifted, she said.

Their website states mobile orders including these products will be adjusted at pickup or delivery.

Lisa Helfman, public affairs director for H-E-B, told KSAT’s sister station KPRC that employees stock shelves daily, and they will not run out of hand sanitizer and soap.

The limit was placed as 86 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States, according to a map by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering that provides a real-time tracking of the virus.

A second person in the United States died from the coronavirus over the weekend, health officials in Washington said. Two men in their 50s and 70s staying in a nursing facility near Seattle where dozens of people were sick were the first people killed by the virus in this country.

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On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control reported 11 cases of COVID-19 in San Antonio.

CDC said on Sunday that a patient released from isolation is being retested for the coronavirus at a local health facility.

Officials say the patient met the criteria for release after testing negative for the virus twice, but a pending lab test came up positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. The patient will be retested out of caution, the CDC said.

Metro Health is working to track where the patient went, who they interacted with, the time frames they spent outside of the quarantine facility and who may have been exposed, officials say.

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The virus has infected more than 89,000 people globally and has caused over 3,000 deaths, the latest Associated Press numbers show.

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About the Author

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.

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