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Coronavirus Concerns: Large Crowds And Empty Shelves At Grocery Stores Worry Shoppers

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — School closures and efforts to avoid large crowds have people stocking up on supplies at the grocery store.

In some places, shelves are completely barren. At the Costco off Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento, one man said he waited in the checkout line for 45 minutes.

"It's mostly cleared out. I was just lucky I was able to get one of each because that's the limit," said Anthony Ogbeiaee, who had toilet paper and paper towels in his cart.

Ogbeiaee said fears about the virus are starting to get to him. His trip to Costco was not what he thought it would be.

"You go in with the expectation of just getting what you need, but seeing people rushing to get it, you get worried and you just have to think about yourself. Like, 'oh my god what's going on,'" he said.

READ: California EDD Sets Up Resources For People Losing Income Over Coronavirus

He said there are a lot of empty shelves inside and there was no water left.

Marcos Torregrosa was shopping at the same time with his daughter but said he feels no panic.

"People just don't realize it's no longer containment, it's care," he said.

He was able to get toilet paper, but there were no baby wipes for his daughter. He said he's not worried.

"I'm not overly stressed. I think there's a pandemic, I'm going on because people are not educated," Torregrosa said.

People with concerns now focus on what happens next

"Oh my gosh, what do you do? Like should you buy more than you need, should you just wait? It's really confusing and not a good situation to be in," Ogbeiaee said.

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