Video of man coughing on Walmart merchandise leads to investigation in South Carolina

Video captured a man coughing on Walmart merchandise, leading to an investigation in South Carolina.

Footage posted to Facebook shows an unidentified person coughing as he leans into clothing racks and items for sale near the checkout counter. The man is still heard coughing as he pushes his cart toward the store exit.

He is never seen covering his mouth or wearing a face mask.

The moments were filmed earlier this week at a Walmart Supercenter in Boiling Springs, WHNS and WSPA reported. The store is roughly 8 miles northwest of Spartanburg.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office says it is looking into the reported incident but didn’t provide additional details “because the investigation is active.”

“It’s unfortunate that a person would behave this way in our store,” a Walmart spokesperson said Wednesday in an email to McClachy News. “We appreciate our customers who take the health and safety of others seriously.”

The video was reportedly filmed as South Carolina continues to be a hot spot for the coronavirus pandemic. More than 73,000 people in the state have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, and more than 1,100 have died.

To help people stay healthy, officials encourage everyone to wear face coverings in public and cover their coughs or sneezes. The virus is believed to spread “through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s also possible that a person could get infected after touching a surface that has the virus on it, though the CDC says that’s probably not the main way people get sick.

Since Monday, Walmart has required in-store shoppers to wear masks, McClatchy News previously reported.