Supply chain issues getting gnarly at Rochester supermarkets, liquor store

A shopper at the Milton Road Hannaford's grabs one of the remaining can of cat food on Sunday. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - The pet food aisle at Hannaford's Milton Road store on Sunday showed the havoc being wreaked on the nation's supply chain due to Omicron isolations.

The variant, which will probably infect everybody whether they're vaccinated or not, according to White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, is being felt locally, from the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine outlet, to Rochester's supermarkets, where store managers and associates are doing all they can to keep the shelves stocked.

HOW DRY I AM: At the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet at The Ridge there were noticable gaps in both the bourbon and liqueur aisles.

On Sunday several shoppers were stunned as they scanned the canned cat food section, which was chillingly empty.

A store manager at Hannaford's today said he couldn't comment on the situation.

Hannaford's corporate offices in Scarborough, Maine, allowed no human interface and no ability to leave a message with store administrators.

A call to EJ Powers, the marketing firm that handles New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets, was not returned.

The isolation time for omicron was cut from 10 days to five days due to supply chain issues wrought by the highly infectious but less severe COVID strain.

The shortened isolation was based on science, according to a CDC statement in late December.

"Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation for the public," according to the statement. "People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.

Sunday's shortages at Hannaford and elsewhere may force health officials to shorten the isolation period even more, especially given the recent revelation by Fauci that "everyone" will get Omicron.

A Market Basket employee said they are experiencing the same shortages.

"It's nationwide," said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous.