People have been hoarding and panic-buying since the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic started to sink in. Stores had widespread shortages of toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, hand sanitizers, and other cleaning products. Grocery stores have changed their hours to allow more time for employees to stock the shelves, but some stores just can’t keep up.
On various social media sites, people are giving hints and telling each other which stores have what items. Officials from the federal government to the local government are asking people not to hoard. There is plenty of inventory and no one will be banned from shopping for essential items, but people are still buying in bulk.
Governor Charlie Baker ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down as of noon on 3/24/20. People are allowed to go out to shop for food, pick up food at restaurants (which are all take-out only now), pick up medicines, and do their banking. Visit https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-essential-services for a list of essential services. To keep informed, visit https://www.mass.gov/covid19 for daily updates. To see the governor’s press briefings, visit https://www.youtube.com/user/MassGovernor/videos. You may also text COVIDMA to 888-777 on your cell phone to receive alerts.
At Stop and Shop in Fairhaven on March 20th, shelves were almost depleted when it came to water and bread, while hand sanitizer and paper products were long gone. Canned goods also seemed to be flying off the shelves while fresh fruit and vegetables were still available. Photo by Glenn C. Silva.
Although shelves were almost depleted when it came to water, bread, hand sanitizer and paper products, the produce department at Stop & Shop in Fairhaven was well stocked up on 3/20/20. Photo by Glenn C. Silva.
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