Coronavirus: California woman arrested for allegedly licking groceries worth 1,800 USD

California : A California woman has been arrested for allegedly licking the groceries and other items at a supermarket worth 1,800 USD, police said on Wednesday.

Chris Fiore, spokesman for the South Lake Tahoe police department, near the border with Nevada, told AFP that officers were called to the Safeway store on Tuesday following reports of "a customer licking groceries" at a time of heightened fears over the spread of the highly contagious novel coronavirus.

"When officers arrived on the scene, a Safeway employee informed them that the suspect put numerous pieces of jewelry from the store on her hands," he said. "The suspect licked the jewelry then began to load her cart with merchandise from the store."

The suspected has been identified as Jennifer Walker, who was seen inside the store with a shopping cart full of items, including meat and liquor, which she had no means to purchase.

Walker, 53, was arrested for felony vandalism and the merchandise had to be destroyed for fear of contamination.