A north Stockton grocery store is at the center of a social media storm as rumors swirl around a recent incident, fed by people’s fears over the continuing spread of COVID-19, the new coronavirus.

STOCKTON ― A north Stockton grocery store is at the center of a social media storm as rumors swirl around a recent incident, fed by people’s fears over the continuing spread of COVID-19, the new coronavirus.

SF Supermarket, one of the anchor tenants at Normandy Village Center on the northeast corner of East Hammer and West lanes, was open for business Tuesday afternoon, adhering to all the new physical distancing and sanitation rules imposed on businesses that provide essential services, according to general manager Huy Trieu.

What got people talking on social media platforms was that one of SF Supermarket’s employees was ill with COVID. That part is correct, according to Trieu.

“He was taken to the hospital Sunday. He had a positive test and now he is resting at home,” Trieu said Wednesday afternoon.

That should put to bed the most outrageous claim that the employee died in a car on the way to the hospital Tuesday morning, Trieu hopes.

Attempts to contact people who posted online statements about SF Supermarket were unsuccessful. A representative with San Joaquin County’s Joint Information Center at the Office of Emergency Services was unable to discuss any connection between the market and Wednesday’s announced death from the virus.

Trieu could not explain why people would say the large market was closed or why they thought the employee had died.

He noted that as a small business, it is hard enough to stay open during the current crisis without having to deal with false statements.

“While we still have customers, we still suffer a lot. We are short of employees about 50%,” Trieu said. “We have the janitor go out and sanitize the store more often. We already enforce keeping everybody 6 feet away from the customers.”

And after reviewing some educational materials, Trieu is considering adding sneeze guards at the checkstands.

Rumors can easily circulate within communities during a crisis, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA recommended three things to stop the spread of disinformation:

• Don’t believe the rumors.

• Don’t pass them along.

• Go to trusted sources of information to get the facts. To learn more, visit fema.gov/coronavirus-rumor-control.

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.