[fuzzfactor]

I can assure you the fear in the faces of the Walmart workers Thursday evening, as they had presided over emptier shelves every hour than any had ever seen, was fear of rationing more so than fear of contracting disease.

That was the last day before they limited hours.

[nvahalik]

Perhaps. Around here this isn't something unusual when a hurricane or crazy weather event is in the forecast.

Call it naive optimism, but hopefully in the next few days people will calm down and things might sort-of go back to normal.

[fuzzfactor]

This was much worse shortage developing more rapidly than the anticipated approach of more-accurately-predicted certain widespread destruction from closely looming hurricanes like Ike and Harvey.

It only takes a small fraction of the population to act overly cautiously in the face of perceived impending disaster, and you get throughput out the front door in shopping carts greater than they are ready to keep up with from truckloads in the back door.

Would be great if selection and available hours are broadened back to normal soon

>hopefully in the next few days

but until then it looks like rationing has already started in the big city.

Within about the last 4 hours, the White House has addressed hoarding food as the situation has become significant enough for them to go on record.

>_You don't have to buy so much,_ Trump said at a news conference. _Take it easy. Just relax._

>Pence urged Americans to only buy the groceries they need for the week ahead.

While Dr. Anthony Fauci,

>the government's top infectious disease expert said he would like to see aggressive measures such as a 14-day national shutdown that would require Americans to hunker down even more to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.