Photograph of Grocery Store Snack Aisle During Ohio’s Stay at Home Order of 2020

This photograph shows the snack aisle of the Kroger supermarket, located at The Shops At Worthington Place, on March 17, 2020. Defined by local and national public health orders as one of the types of businesses providing an “essential service” and thus allowed to remain open, grocery stores saw significantly more customers than usual in the early weeks of the pandemic. Concerns about supply shortages and stay-at-home orders motivated shoppers to buy larger quantities of food and household items such as toilet paper and disinfectants, making these products difficult to find.

While grocery stores were bustling, Worthington’s normally busy streets and public places were quiet during the spring of 2020 due to Ohio’s historic stay at home order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Issued by Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton M.D. MPH, the order went into effect on Monday, March 23, 2020 at 11:59 pm. The order closed nonessential businesses, restricted gatherings, ordered all residents to stay in their homes except for certain exempt activities, and limited travel. The order was fully lifted on May 19, replaced by strong recommendations for social distancing.