Grocery store chain in seven states to reduce hours as coronavirus spreads

A grocery store chain in the Southeast is shrinking its hours as coronavirus spreads.

Publix announced Friday evening that starting Saturday it will close at 8 p.m. until further notice.

There are 1,243 Publix stores in the U.S., according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The chain has stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, according to the store’s website.

“To better serve our customers, give our store teams time to conduct additional preventive sanitation and restock product on our shelves, beginning Saturday, March 14 we will adjust store and pharmacy hours companywide to close at 8 p.m. until further notice,” Publix tweeted.

More than 1,600 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed nationally as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency because of the pandemic.

This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Grocery store chain in seven states to reduce hours as coronavirus spreads."