(Reuters) – In Union, New Jersey, a Target opened at 8 a.m. and had sold out of its full stock of milk and bottled water five minutes later. In Austin, Texas, some gas station pumps ran dry. Not a bottle of bleach could be found at a Home Depot in Fairfax, Virginia.
Shoppers line up before opening at a Costco store, following reports of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country, in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 14, 2020. REUTERS/David Ryder
As dawn broke across the United States on Saturday, thousands of shoppers lined up outside supermarkets and grocery stores before they opened, eager for a chance to buy essentials that have flown off shelves as the country hunkers down to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“It’s crazy. People have gone crazy,” said Alexis Coppol, a Washington, D.C. resident who was shopping at Costco. “I mean, I’m not too worried, but if we get put on a lockdown I want to make sure I have food.”
Americans have been stocking up on good for days. But for many, the severity of the rapidly spreading coronavirus, which causes a sometimes fatal, highly contagious respiratory illness, really started to sink in after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday, releasing $50 billion in federal aid to help states fight the virus.
More than 2,500 Americans have contracted the disease and at least 52 h