‘It’s Always Better Safe Than Sorry’: Store Shelves Run Low Amid Coronavirus Concerns - CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The run on store shelves continues unabated as folks stock up for the possibility of a coronavirus extended stay at home.

On one hand, the retailers are trying to keep the supply chain open to get products on their shelves while customers try to time their shopping to when the store shelves have been freshly stocked.

That’s why many retailers were swamped when they opened their doors this morning. At the Costco in Robinson Township, in less than an hour, the checkout lines went from the front of the warehouse to the back.

In most stores, from groceries to the big box retailers, some shelves now sit empty. The most commonly wiped out product: toilet paper. Toilet paper is absent and all the other paper products are selling out too. Facial tissues and paper towels are starting to see shortened supplies.

But the sought after items extend beyond paper products and disinfectants. Food products with staying power like ramen noodles and canned goods are also getting hit.

In the Costco meat department, the ground beef was going into grocery carts as soon as it landed in the display case.

Misty Mullen emerged from Sam’s Club with the observation: “Oh it’s a little more busy and packed than normal, and it’s crazy.”

Schoolteacher David Taylor who has a wife, son and his parents at home was pushing an overflowing cart as he says, “We’re all a little bit concerned, but honest(ly) I need a lot of this stuff.”

Diane Emery couldn’t help but get caught up in the frenzy. She came to do “normal shopping and got a little bit extra just in case for anything.”

As he unloaded his cart, Scott Hitzfeld acknowledged the excited shopping around him, “I’m not that concerned about it at all, on the off chance something happens we have stuff we can freeze.”

Or as Taylor put it, “It’s always better safe than sorry I think.”

For some, the rush isn’t about concern they won’t be able to get out, but about whether the supply of products will be interrupted.

The first case of coronavirus was just confirmed in western Pennsylvania.

The health department says there is one case of coronavirus in Washington County. The case was confirmed at 5 p.m. Friday. There are now 41 cases in the state.

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‘It’s Always Better Safe Than Sorry’: Store Shelves Run Low Amid Coronavirus Concerns - CBS Pittsburgh
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