Woman Shops For Elderly Couple Too Afraid To Enter Store Due To Coronavirus

An Oregon woman helped an elderly couple buy food amid the COVID-19 outbreak. She detailed her experience in a Twitter post that is currently going viral online, urging people to help each other during the pandemic. Rebecca Mehra, 25, was walking into a grocery store on Wednesday when she heard a woman yell at her from her car. 

"I walked over and found an elderly woman and her husband," wrote Ms Mehra on the microblogging platform. "She cracked her window open a bit more, and explained to me nearly in tears that they are afraid to go in the store."

Health experts say that the elderly and those suffering from pre-existing medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and heart problems are at higher risk of getting infected with the deadly virus.

Ms Mehra explained that the couple, who is in their 80s, had heard the coronavirus was affecting the elderly disproportionately. As they did not have family around, they reached out to her and asked if she could help. 

Through the crack in the window she handed me a $100 bill and a grocery list, and asked if I would be willing to buy her groceries," wrote Ms Mehra on Twitter. 

Afraid to get sick as they are in their 80's and hear that the novel coronavirus is affecting older people disproportionately. And that they don't have family around to help them out. Through the crack in the window she handed me a $100 bill and a grocery list, and asked if I

— Rebecca Mehra (@rebecca_mehra) March 12, 2020

She went on to say that she bought groceries for the couple and placed them in the trunk of their car. The elderly woman then told her that they had been waiting in their car for 45 minutes for someone to help them. 

"I know it's a time of hysteria and nerves, but offer to help anyone you can. Not everyone has people to turn to," wrote Rebecca Mehra while concluding her viral Twitter thread. 

Her thread has collected nearly 2 lakh 'likes' and more than 21,000 retweets. In the comments section, many praised her act of kindness. 

Thank you so much. These are the moments that bring us together as people, and compassion like yours is what will get us through it.

— Rob Shvarts (@RobShvarts) March 12, 2020

Thank you for being the right person! Light for the world ❤️????????

— Jennifer (@JikkieCarp) March 13, 2020

"Of course we all think about ourselves and this is why it's been so scary," Ms Mehra said to Fox News. "We're all thinking about how it's personally affecting us and of course it's personally affected me in some ways.

"At the same time, it was a moment in which I really realized there are folks in this community that are much more affected than I am from the coronavirus and it was a moment in which I realized we need to do our best to be reaching out to these people."