Costco enacts new rules to keep more space between Sonoma County shoppers

Cathy Barron is still getting used to life with social distancing, so her reaction when she walked up to the Costco in Rohnert Park on Friday morning would have been bleeped out if broadcast on television.

A serpentine line nearly 100 people deep spanned the length of the parking lot by 11 a.m., one hour after Sonoma County’s largest wholesale retailer opened its doors.

The 59-year-old Petaluma resident marveled briefly at the scene. Dozens of people individually separated by shopping carts, metered through the entrance to ensure there is ample space between customers. It took more than an hour for Barron and her husband, Chris, to get inside.

“It’s very stressful to come out, to emerge from your hibernation and go out and do your provisioning,” Cathy Barron said of the environment at virtually every retailer during this coronavirus pandemic. “It’s a whole new social construct you have to negotiate.”

Costco implemented more restrictions on Friday to ensure extra personal space between shoppers, after Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase levied stricter requirements on stores this week to limit the potential spread of the new infectious disease.

The wholesaler, which has two local warehouse stores in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, was host to a rush of frenzied buying last month when the World Health Organization declared the respiratory virus that originated in December 2019 in China a global pandemic, and government agencies began ordering residents to largely stay home other than to shop for groceries, go to the bank or take a walk or run.

Now, some Costco members are spending more time waiting in line than actually shopping.

Effective Friday, one membership card only grants two people store entry at one time. Checkout aisles are spaced further apart, the floors are marked where people have to wait, and clerks are separated from shoppers behind plexiglass.

There’s no specific number of people allowed inside at any given time, so employees pace access based on how crowded it appears.

The general manager of the Rohnert Park Costco declined an interview, referring a reporter to the corporate office. A corporate spokesperson declined a request for comment about the new company policies to help reduce the spread of the sometimes deadly virus.

“While many businesses and retailers should be commended for complying with the social distancing requirements in the order, many have not taken it seriously enough,” Mase said in a statement. “I cannot overemphasize the importance of these measures in keeping our community safe. If a business is in the essential category, it must comply or risk being closed down.”

Local residents shopping at Costco and supermarkets have been hoarding items such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies, prompting county officials this week to put purchase limits on some of the most coveted staples as part of the public health emergency stay-home extension through at least May 3.

Many consumer products, like toilet paper, which at Costco comes in packages with no fewer than 30 rolls, are still hard to find on store shelves in the area.

On Friday, a large sign near the store entrance alerted customers that baby wipes, surface wipes, nitrile gloves, sanitizer, toilet paper, facial tissue and bleach were sold out.

Caty, a 32-year-old Rohnert Park woman who declined to provide her last name, was expecting the line when she arrived at Costco Friday morning, and acknowledged it could have been moving much slower.

Her first goal, before stocking up on meats, was to ensure her 9-month-old daughter Lucy stayed relaxed in her carrier.

“Social distancing, it’s what we need to do,” Caty said. “It’s weird being like, ‘Hey can you back up a little bit (to strangers).’ But it’s working so far.”

You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390 or yousef.baig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @YousefBaig.