Many Americans lined up in front of supermarkets, shops waiting to buy toilet paper, pasta and bottled water as the fear of Covid-19 increased.

The rising demand for household goods has led some retailers to restrict customers' purchases, to ensure shelves are on shelves. But residents on March 13 still swept supermarkets and drug stores from Houston to Los Angeles amid more than 2,300 Americans infected with nCoV and more than 40 dead.

Big companies like Amazon have asked employees to work at home, schools, universities and cultural centers across the country to close.

In the afternoon of the same day, President Donald Trump declared Covid-19 a national emergency, allowing states and territories access to $ 50 billion in federal funds to cope with the epidemic.

Marlene Russell, 69, a retired educational advisor and medical technician in Mendham, New Jersey, used an antiseptic soaked cloth to wipe the handle of the shopping cart after loading the newly purchased goods into cars. . "Careless nonsense," she explained.

Marlene's husband, Gary Russell, 77, said the couple had bought wine, cheese and fruit to treat friends from Florida to New York to cheer for Creighton University in Big East basketball tournament, but the match was canceled due to concerns about Covid-19.

Wegmans supermarket chain was full of people on the morning of March 13. A few hours ago, about 40 guests had been waiting in line since the supermarket was not open. The shelves of bactericidal wipes, rice and empty beans. Other shelves display a limit on the amount of hand sanitizer and bottled water that each customer can buy.

At the Fairway supermarket in Manhattan, New York City, the shelves of macaroni, cookies, sauces, and toilet paper were all exhausted the night before. Hygiene products in Pavilions supermarket in Marina del Rey, California also ran out.

Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Listerine mouthwash, said it was distributing the product in a controlled manner. Johnson & Johnson factories also increased their operations to ensure supply to retailers.

Yesterday, the pharmaceutical chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and supermarket chain Kroger introduced a purchase limit to stabilize stock. Each Kroger customer can only buy a certain amount of cold medicine and hygiene products, while Walgreens only sells 4 products of towels and disinfectant, masks, hand sanitizers, thermometers. and gloves.

John Terry, 33, went to Whole Foods supermarket in Manhattan to buy chicken and other commonly used foods because his wife could not buy them at supermarkets near his home in Jersey City.

"I came here to buy something she couldn't buy," he said, leaving the supermarket with only one bag. "It's crazy. She went to Costco and the people lined up. At another supermarket, the shelves were out of stock."

The United States has recorded more than 2,300 nCoV infections, of which 50 died. The worst affected state is Washington with over 500 cases of nCoV and more than 30 deaths. 18 US states had to close all or some schools because Covid-19.