Panic Shopping Across Orange County Leaves Shelves Empty
Coronavirus has left many stores, like Costco, out of toilet paper and paper towels. Stores are also running out of: meat, milk, water, and other grocery items. This picture was taken March 15, 2020, at Costco in Costa Mesa, off Harbor Boulevard and MacArthur. The line to enter the store went out onto the parking lot, as seen here.
March 23, 2020
Schools are closed, stores are shutting down, and the American economy as a whole is facing a major crisis.
With the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 or better known as the coronavirus, people around the globe are hoarding supplies for the long haul of sheltering in place or also known as under quarantine. In the case of the U.S., food and basic human necessities such as toilet paper and soap were cleared off of shelves and into carts of many worried families, as the long dreaded weeks of isolation may not end until late April, early May or even longer, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Last night, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) declared that schools will be closed till May 1st. Surrounding school districts promptly followed LAUSD’s lead, although nothing has been decided for Orange County schools including Santa Ana Unified School District.
Mass quarantines have not been this severe since the 1918-1919 Spanish-Flu pandemic which shook American society after the brutal catastrophe of World War I.
As of March 23, 2020, 125 cases have been confirmed in Orange County, thus social distancing and precautionary measures have been put into practice in order to limit the number of individuals who may carry the disease.
With this information in mind, the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organizations are recommending that people stay indoors, follow precautionary measures set by your government officials and practice social distancing if traveling outside to grab supplies. And if any symptoms arise, stay home and follow the directions of your local health authority.
Many stores and markets across the U.S., including local supermarket Stater Bros, have established a policy of only two of the same items per family. This allows for supply chains to catch up and shoppers can find what they need instead of finding empty shelves and long lines as the order of sheltering in place came down last weekend.
Below are snapshots Gazette journalists took during the week of March 12-19, 2020, as panic shopping hit it’s peak.
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Katelyn • Oct 16, 2020 at 9:19 am
I find it disappointing people aren’t taking into consideration of those who actually needs those basic necessities and are taking it all for themselves.
Erika Perez • Apr 13, 2020 at 2:29 pm
Once the MALADY started to get worse which caused the schools to close it made everyone filled with fear. The coronavirus began to make everyone FRETFUL and it made everyone over react and buy everything from the shelves because they are scared that they wont have enough supplies. This fear is causing consequences because now hospitals are in need of hand sanitizers or other supplies. There is no more on the shelves because of the people that just have it stored in there house because of the fear of not having enough. This is also happening with food and that is why schools are giving out breakfast to ADVOCATE the families in need to feed their kids.