As confirmed US cases soar above 500 this past weekend, Americans made a mad dash to Costco stores across the country to hoard food, water, and disinfectants.
The Baltimore Sun reports that some Maryland shoppers spent most of the weekend panic buying supplies at big-box retailers as six confirmed cases were reported in the area. The Sun interviewed shoppers across the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area that loaded up on supplies amid pandemic fears.
The BJ’s Wholesale Club in Canton, Harris Teeter in Canton Crossing, and the Whole Foods in the Inner Harbor experienced a surge in shoppers on Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m always prepared,” Denise Cox told The Sun at Harris Teeter in Canton Crossing on Saturday morning. She’s spent the last several weeks buying water, Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, and bleach. “When I bought the bleach, corona was in my thoughts.”
In Ruxton, Maryland, a wealthy suburb of Baltimore City, Graul’s Market reported a run by locals, who wiped out their supply of sanitizer items, Clorox wipes, and canned products.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said assistant store manager Jeff Major, who has worked for the grocery store for nearly two decades.
Major said the store purchased several cases of Purell hand sanitizer last Wednesday, and it was sold out by that evening.
“I think rubbing alcohol will be the next thing to go,” general manager Tom Gilbert said.
“Fingers crossed, we’ll have hand sanitizer by March 15,” he added.
Sandie Pearce spent her weekend driving around the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, going from store to store in search of disinfectants, such as Lysol and Clorox.
Pearce went to nine stores on Saturday, telling The Sun that disinfectants were all sold out everywhere. However, she hit the “jackpot” at a Walgreens on York Road in Timonium. Where she found a 12-ounce can of Lysol spray for $8, marked up well over 100%.
She said Amazon was all sold out of disinfectants, which forced her to spend the weekend searching for virus prevention products at brick and mortar stores.
“The last time I saw this was the last big snowstorm,” Pearce said. “Before it was bread. Now it’s germ virus killers.”
Rod Hall, store manager at Dollar General in Baltimore City, said someone walked into his store and bought hundreds of dollars of disinfectants last week.
“It was Clorox. It was Lysol. It was store brand. He didn’t care,” Hall said, as he explained the man wiped the store shelves clean. “I’m pretty sure it was for business.”
He said his store is out of hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol and surgical masks.
“[Hand sanitizer] was the first thing to go. Then they bought the alcohol. And spray bottles,” Hall said. “We might not get anything until the Tuesday after next.”
At Walmart in Baltimore County, sales associates said hand sanitizer and surgical masks had been sold out “for weeks.”
Most big-box retailers, not just in Maryland but across the country, have seen unprecedented demand for hand sanitizers and masks – now experiencing massive shortages.
President Trump is well aware of the situation and panic across America. Trump said on Monday that “nothing is shut down, life and the economy go on.” The Trump administration is absolutely terrified that they cannot control the narrative of the “greatest economy ever,” as virus cases surge across the country, the map below will likely get a lot redder:
While President Trump attempts to maintain the narrative of how everything is “wonderful,” his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, warned Americans on Monday that “everyone should take precautions regarding the virus.”
As virus cases increase in the US, so will the panic – we’re likely in the beginnings of a virus crisis in the US that could tilt the economy into recession.
via zerohedge
The media and authors like this are needlessly spreading the fear of a pandemic that seems to only effect the very elderly with pre-existing conditions. Notice how this author seems to be “caring about people”, as a simple by-stander reporting things seen; but manages to get in a couple digs at the President?
The common flu kills thousands of people in the U.S. every year, and puts the brakes on personal finances, industry and — well, everything else. But where’s the fear-mongering over that?
According to Johns Hopkins, there have been 607 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (Wuhan Flu) in the U.S., and 22 deaths. All elderly with pre-existing conditions.
The CDC has tabulated at least 34,000,000, and possibly as high as 49,000,000 cases of the ‘common’ flu, with 35,000+ confirmed hospitalizations, and at least 20,000 deaths because of or related to the flu. When you factor in the related, it’s 52,000. All since last October (5 months).
The demonrats and their media acolytes are using the COVID-19 as fuel to CONTROL the sheeple in America. Screaming about Trump closing the border to Chinese ‘tourist’ and business. They spread panic, in hopes to shut down Trump’s agenda. That’s all this amounts to.
They chose Joe Biden as their savior, so they could stay in control. He’s a demented blank slate puppet, who will be ‘handled’. The fear-mongering over COVID-19 is just another step in the direction of taking back the country from ‘orange-man-bad’. What they’re really doing is taking back the country from the ‘evil’ conservatives who don’t want to allow their perversions and criminalities.
COVID-19 is no more a ‘risk’ than the common cold virus (also coronaviruses) that’s been around forever, and people can protect themselves against COVID-19 just like the common flu.
This is total crap, fueled by the media. Just wait til you start seeing people trying the scam the public with outrageous prices for these items you can no longer find on the shelves. SMDH….