US supermarket shelves go bare

As the Omicron variant of Covid-19 sweeps the United States, empty supermarket shelves have become the latest sign of the pandemic’s ongoing disruption to the country’s supply chains.

“It’s not as bad as Sunday but there are still plenty of empty shelves, lots of products are missing,” Justin Toone, a regular shopper at a Giant supermarket in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, told AFP.

Shortages have been a recurring feature of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, with a run on toilet paper marking its early days, but a wider range of items have gone out of stock lately, particularly in areas struck by bad winter weather like snow storms.

“Last week for several days in a row, there was nothing, no fruit, no vegetables in this Giant store and also in all grocery stores around,” Toone said.

Honey, eggs, milk and meat disappeared from the shelves in nearby stores.

Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain management at Syracuse University, said that previous Covid-19 waves affected different parts of the country over a period of time, allowing grocery stores to adjust their

supply chains.

“Since the Omicron variant is so contagious, it’s impacting the entire United States all at once.”