I agree with this actually, I am purely thinking of the workers. I don't equate mandatory quarantine which would involve the closure of Wal-Mart stores to mean that suddenly products are no longer available. Like I mentioned above we live in a time where we can get products very very quickly. Every major company has the means to get the products to those who need them, it's just a matter of the people in power getting their head out of their asses and thinking of the workers first and putting in the time to come up with a online infrastructure that works at a time like this. Just to be clear I do NOT have some magical solution to this problem. But it's obvious we should not be forcing those who have no other option to come into contact with a ton of people on a daily basis and just keep spreading the virus, that seems asinine to me and careless.
Ah, okay, i think i see what you are suggesting.
Here is the issue: our current system is already in place. We have an absolute massive amount of goods going through every brick and mortar, and another massive amount getting delivery via Amazon, etc. Our entire ecosystem is built off of that - we can't just flip a switch and, for example, go 'full online' because our brick and mortar infrastructure is not online infrastructure.
To suddenly shut down Walmart, yet keep their supply chain, would require wartime levels of government intervention and likely an insurmountable loss of efficiency during the transition period. It would be like transitioning Ford's factories to tanks again, but instead of just factories, messing with our food during a time of crisis.
Trump & Co. are doing it right - getting all the major brick and mortars [walmart, target, walgreens, etc] to commit to staying up and running. This allows each organization to meet this committment in their own way, since they know their operation [and their limitations] best. And if Target f's it up, maybe Walmart won't.
And if it gets bad enough, we may even see a concerted effort by these companies to move to a more delivery oriented service. But it's not a switch that can be flipped. And we shouldn't be angry that Walmart is committing to staying open, we should be proud they are committed to being there for us during crisis [and that comes from someone who has never even once stepped inside a walmart because i am against some of their trade practices].
As for the workers, well, a close relative of mine is in charge of regional trucking for one of these big chains. I can't speak for everyone, but i can speak for him - he is willing to risk it because he understands the responsibility of the job he took on feeds families. He doesn't want to stay home. He wants to be there for everyone. He is a link in a very big chain.
