Jack’s Country Store initiated a ‘one per household’ purchase limit on some items to help spread the stock. Demand for basic necessities such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer, to food staples including eggs and bread, have surged since the respiratory illness was declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization last week.

LONG BEACH PENINSULA — As concern and uncertainty about the Covid-19 outbreak spreads, panicked buyers have inundated local grocers, emptying shelves and stressing supply lines.

Demand for basic necessities such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer, to food staples including eggs and bread, has surged since the respiratory illness was declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization last week.

“It’s unreal,” said Karen Gove, front-end manager for Okie’s Thriftway Market in Ocean Park. “Well, people are panicking is what it is.” She said one woman came in, grabbed two shopping carts and filled them with stuff.

In 40 years working at Okie’s, Gove said she’d only seen this type of shopping once before, when Mount St. Helens blew and there was a rumor that people were going to be evacuated to the beach.

In between each customer, employees are disinfecting counters and stylus pens, doing what they can to make customers feel safe. One woman thanked Grove when she saw her wiping down keyboards.

Gove called employees in two hours earlier than their scheduled shifts to help with the rush of customers. She told them to be really pleasant, listen to the customers and try not to share their thoughts on the infection.

“We’ll be here for customers,” Grove said.

Vendors struggle to keep up

While store shelves at local grocers along the Long Beach Peninsula from Sid’s Supermarket in Seaview to Jack’s Country Store and Okie’s Thriftway Market in Ocean Park have been hit hard by panicked shoppers, supply vendors have struggled to keep inventory in stock. Arrival times have been delayed by as much as 10 hours.

“Delivery schedules are all over the map,” said Jack’s Country Store owner Tom Downer.

Runs on toilet paper and hand sanitizer have left some shelves barren for days in between deliveries, but local grocers have made adjustments to limit the impact.

“The only high-demand item that we have not been able to keep in stock is hand sanitizer, but we’re still able to offer alternatives such as denatured alcohol,” Downer said.

Jack’s instituted a limit of ‘one per household’ on toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissues to help spread the stock. Despite ration attempts, shelves were nearly empty again by mid-day Monday.

Downer has needed to place orders for new varieties of products after primary suppliers have begun to sell out.

“Because we buy from a large number of vendors, we’ve been able to fill many of the holes in our inventory. Our crew has risen to the challenge, working extra hours and flexible schedules to correspond to the disruptions in supply,” he said.

Fun continues

At the Funland Family Fun Center in downtown Long Beach, dozens of games beeped and the lights blinked unattended late Monday afternoon. Inside, employee Alisa Bowers diligently wiped down the doors and shelves with disinfectant inside the prize room. Fewer than five people lingered inside the arcade where dozens of kids often congregate.

Meanwhile outside, Andrew Moody, 14, and Brian Stapleton, 13, dribbled basketballs down Washington Avenue toward the courts at Culbertson Park.

The outbreak and subsequent school and business closures had little impact on the two teenagers so far.

“We’re going to play more basketball,” Stapleton said.