Fear of the cornoavirus is turning routine trips to the grocery store into stressful, anxious excursions. Many New Yorkers have developed strategies to cope.

"We are trying to generally do it in one big haul, like on Sunday mornings, but sometimes you need a specialty item and when we see a line we just give up," said Susan Sherman, an Upper East Side Resident 

Supermarkets are limiting the number of customers at any one time to reduce the risk of the virus being transmitted from shopper to shoppers.

Some shoppers are doing their part too: wearing gloves, masks, and bringing wipes.

For many, these precautions don't just end at the check out line.

"I'll go home and immediately sanitize before I touch anything. Then I will leave this out in a closet for 24 hours.. Without touching it," added Laird Kaplan shopping at a C-Town in Yorkville

Dr. David Buchholz is the medical director for primary care at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

He says there are several ways shoppers can protect themselves while running essential errands. 

The tips are simple, wash your hands, keep your distance and be especially aware at the checkout line.

"That is probably the closest interaction you are probably going to have and depending on how many groceries purchased you might actually be face to face with the person for 5 minutes, that is the time to be mindful of how you are interacting, keeping that distance," said Dr. Buchholz.

Buchholz says the vast majority of infections are going to come from people to people contact, but he still supports cleaning groceries before putting them away, since the virus can live for up to 24 hours on surfaces.

"Create a dirty area in your kitchen and you put all the groceries in the dirty area and as you take them out one at a time you figure out how to clean them to put them into the clean area," added Dr. Buchholz.

He suggests bringing your own bags and bagging groceries yourself.

If you need to pass by someone in a tight isle, do it with your back turned to them.

If you can, avoid using cash or touching your phone.

But most important of all, respect personal space even if it means returning to the store at another time.