Shop normally during COVID-19 pandemic, province says

The meat section at the Cornwall Walmart on Ninth Street is picked nearly bare on Saturday, March 14, 2020. An employee says people were lined up outside the store before it opened to get toilet paper amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

CORNWALL – The provincial government is suggesting people stop hoarding and panic buying and “practice normal grocery buying habits.”

In a joint statement on Saturday, Deputy Premier Christine Elliott and Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman say people should practice normal grocery buying habits.

“Ontarians can be confident that our food supply is robust…rest assured, we have plenty of food that will continue to reach grocery stores on a regular basis.”

A toilet paper section is littered with empty cardboard boxes at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Brookdale Avenue in Cornwall, Ont. on Saturday, March 14, 2020. The province says people should practice normal buying habits amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

That hasn’t stopped people from clearing off shelves at local grocery and retail outlets.

At the Cornwall Walmart on Ninth Street, the meat, sugar, Lysol and paper product sections were nearly empty. A toilet paper section at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Brookdale Avenue was empty, littered with empty cardboard boxes. Shelves at both locations had noticeable empty spots.

A Walmart staffer said people were lined up outside the store before its 7 a.m. opening in search for toilet paper.