CORONAVIRUS STOCKPILE
Coronavirus outbreak fears see shoppers lining up with carts around the block for supplies
PEOPLE are stocking up on supplies amid the coronavirus outbreak — spending time to line up around the block to wait their turn to buy what they need for a possible quarantine.
Pictures taken outside a Costco store in Burbank, California on Monday show customers literally lining up their shopping carts, waiting to head into the store to shop.
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Shoppers were lined around the parking lot and back around a sidewalk.
Store shelves across the U.S. have been clearing out as people continue to prepare to possibly come in contact with the coronavirus, which has killed 28 people in the country.
The sale of hand sanitizer — which is one hot item that’s been flying off the shelves — increased 319 percent between February 22 and 29, according to recent Nielsen data.
Some stores and online shops have been price gouging.
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one bottle of 12-ounce Purell hand sanitizer that typically retails for $4.50 was going for $50 on Amazon — which has led New York state to make its own hand sanitizer.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday the state “will immediately begin producing hand sanitizer ourselves — 100,000 gallons a week” for government agencies, schools, the MTA, prisons and more.
As of last week, Washington state — where at least 23 people have died — saw the biggest spike in shelf-stable food products, and cleaning and medical supplies, per CNBC.
Items like beans, grains and rice have jumped 84 percent.
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In California, people were jumping to buy similar items, including disinfecting wipes, tuna, pasta and toilet paper.
Other states including South Dakotans, Texas and Colorado are also seeing spikes in store sales.
Kroger announced it was limiting the amount of “sanitization, cold and flu-related products” being sold to consumers and Home Depot said they’re limited the number of face masks people can order online and in stores.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests older people — who are more likely at risk to get the coronavirus — should “stock up on non-perishable food items to have on hand in your home to minimize trips to stores.”
As of Tuesday, at least 28 people have died and more than 800 people have been infected by the coronavirus in the U.S.
Globally, more than 118,000 people have tested positive for the virus and more than 4,200 people have died from it.
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