Long lines and empty shelves at Costco in Victorville amid coronavirus fears

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Fears over the coronavirus are causing people everywhere including right here in the Victor Valley to rush to local stores and stock-up or “panic-buy” on essentials.

By the time Costco opened at 10:00 am., on Wednesday, a much larger than usual crowd was already waiting to get inside the store on Valley Center Drive in Victorville.

Once inside, customers had to stand in a single-file line to reach the water section. A sign that read “5 case limit of any water” was the only thing left by 10:30 am when everything on the water shelves was gone.

Also sold out before noon was the toilet paper, paper towels, bleach, and the cup of noodles.

One person estimated nearly 900 people visited the store within the first hour of opening. They said it was pretty much comparable, if not worse, to the Thanksgiving/Christmas rushes.

Fears and anxiety over the covid-19 or coronavirus have sent people all across the US into panic shopping. Panic shopping happens when people worry about the scarcity of supplies.

Costco isn’t the only place in the Victor Valley selling out of items. Harbor Freight Tools were completely sold out of facemasks, something that is normally in stock. Even Autozone and Lowe’s also reportedly were sold out of the masks.

Thursday morning is not looking any different for the Victorville Costco. Victor Valley News Group member Tina Cuadra posted and said “Beware Costco lines are going around the building. Crazy.”

To follow updates to this article and more, Join our newsgroup on Facebook with over 140,000 members, Like our Facebook page, and Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.