As anxiety over COVID-19 spread, 22-year-old Adam Thomsen went on a “mission” from his mom to buy toilet paper.
Thomsen, who lives in Elkhorn, saw people scurrying to grab the remaining packages when he entered the Walmart Supercenter near 168th Street and West Maple Road on Friday afternoon. The store had about seven packages left, and he grabbed one.
He came out of the store shortly thereafter, with the toilet paper and a 12-pack of Coke in hand, describing a “crazy” scene.
“We have to come together and just help each other,” Thomsen said.
Gov. Pete Ricketts sought to reassure Nebraskans on Friday that the state’s food supply chain was secure, even as numerous stores were seeing some shelves emptied because of concerns over the novel coronavirus.
“We have a very secure supply chain,” Ricketts said, “and we are examining steps to ensure that products move quickly.”
Friday morning, the Walmart at 72nd and Hickory Streets was out of toilet paper. About a dozen cans of spray disinfectant were left, but no hand sanitizer. Aside from a few boxed rice meals, rice was absent from shelves. Stocks of canned goods were a little thin, but there was still plenty left.
Employees at Hy-Vee on Maple Street have restocked some supplies on empty shelves. The store is also limiting the number of bleach and toilet paper to prevent hoarding. pic.twitter.com/qbJ4ozo0Pm
— Mia Azizah (@mia_azizah11) March 13, 2020
Shelves in some freezers were nearly empty Friday at the Hy-Vee near 78th and Cass Streets. A sign advised that the store was limiting toilet paper purchases to one package per person until further notice.
The Walgreens on Saddle Creek Road was low on toilet paper but had plenty of chocolate. Early Friday morning, the Baker’s supermarket on Saddle Creek was out of toilet paper.
Virus Outbreak California
Crew members wear masks while preparing to dock the Grand Princess in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. The cruise ship, which had maintained a holding pattern off the coast for days, is carrying multiple people who tested positive for COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Virus Outbreak California
Passenger aboard the Grand Princess celebrate as they arrive in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. The cruise ship, which had maintained a holding pattern off the coast for days, is carrying multiple people who tested positive for COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Virus Outbreak California
Tents stand on a wharf near the Grand Princess at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., Monday, March 9, 2020. The cruise ship, which had maintained a holding pattern off the coast for days, is carrying multiple people who tested positive for COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Virus Outbreak California
Tents line a wharf as the Grand Princess rests docked, Monday, March 9, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. The cruise ship, which had maintained a holding pattern off the coast for days, is carrying multiple people who tested positive for novel coronavirus. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
APTOPIX Trump Virus Outbreak
President Donald Trump pauses as he speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March, 9, 2020, about the coronavirus outbreak U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator and Vice President Mike Pence, look on (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Virus Outbreak US
A worker at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash. wears a mask and uses a leaf blower as he wheels a package on a cart, Monday, March 9, 2020, near Seattle. The nursing home is at the center of the outbreak of the new coronavirus in Washington state. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
A worker disinfects handrails inside a train as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Virus Outbreak Thailand
Thai Buddhist monks wear face masks to protect from a new coronavirus in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak China
A masked woman browses her smartphone as she walks by the Wangfujing shopping district in Beijing, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
People wear a protective masks as they walk in front of the Bonifacio Shrine in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
A man wears a protective mask as he rides a passenger jeepney in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
People wear protective masks at the Bonifacio Shrine in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
A man wears a protective mask as he rides a passenger jeepney in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Sri Lanka Virus Outbreak
Sri Lankan airport officials wearing protective masks as a precaution against a new coronavirus walk past a Buddha statue at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Virus Outbreak Thailand
A Thai worker wears a face mask to protect from a new coronavirus as he repairs Buddha statues at Suthat Temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A worker sprays disinfectant as sanitization operations against Coronavirus are carried out in the museum hosted by the Maschio Angioino medieval castle, in Naples, Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (Alessandro Pone/LaPresse via AP)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A worker sprays disinfectant as sanitization operations against Coronavirus are carried out in the museum hosted by the Maschio Angioino medieval castle, in Naples, Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (Alessandro Pone/LaPresse via AP)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A prelate takes a photograph of an empty St. Peter’s Square after the Vatican erected a new barricade at the edge of the square, in Rome, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Italy entered its first day under a nationwide lockdown after a government decree extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the rest of the country to prevent the spreading of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
APTOPIX Spain Virus Outbreak
Young students play in a public school, in Vitoria, northern Spain, Monday, March 9, 2020. Health authorities in the Madrid region say that infections for the new coronavirus have more than doubled in the past 24 hours. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Virus Outbreak South Korea
A face mask hangs in a window in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Virus Outbreak South Korea
A visitor wearing a face mask walks at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Virus Outbreak South Korea
A woman wearing a face mask passes by posters about precautions against the COVID-19 illness on a street in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The sign reads “The New Coronavirus Prevention Action.” (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Belgium EU Virus Outbreak
An MEP listens during the Plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. EU lawmakers were due to take part in a drastically shortened European parliamentary session in Brussels amid concern about the spread of coronavirus. EU leaders were also due to hold a videoconference Tuesday to coordinate efforts across the 27-nation bloc to slow the disease down. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
India Tibet Virus Outbreak
Exile Tibetan Buddhist nuns wearing protective masks as a precaution against a new coronavirus applaud a speaker during a protest march marking the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, as they gather in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, March 10, 2020.For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
APTOPIX Austria Virus Outbreak
A member of the medical staff measures the temperature of a traveller at a autobahn park place near Gries am Brenner, Austrian province of Tyrol, at border crossing with Italy on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Austria authorities started on random checks of arriving vehicles at the border crossings with Italy in reaction to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in Europe, particularly in Italy. As part of the move, officials measure the temperatures of some passengers in cars, trucks and buses. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson )
Austria Virus Outbreak
A member of the medical staff measures the temperature of a traveller at a autobahn park place near Gries am Brenner, Austrian province of Tyrol, at border crossing with Italy on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Austria authorities started on random checks of arriving vehicles at the border crossings with Italy in reaction to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in Europe, particularly in Italy. As part of the move, officials measure the temperatures of some passengers in cars, trucks and buses. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson )
India Tibet Virus Outbreak
Exile Tibetans wear protective masks as a precaution against a new coronavirus during a protest march marking the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, as Tibetans gather in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Hungary Coronavirus
A paramedic on call wears on protective gear as a precaution against the spread of the novel coronavirus in the garage of the Mohacs street station of the National Ambulance Service Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Any patients suspected of having contracted the Covid-19 infection will be taken to hospital by the order of their general practitioner. Today another three cases have emerged in Hungary, bringing the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country to 12. A total of 67 people are in quarantine, while samples have been taken from 362 people suspected of carrying the virus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP)
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak China
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, is briefed about the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. China’s president visited the center of the global virus outbreak Tuesday as Italy began a sweeping nationwide travel ban and people worldwide braced for the possibility of recession. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak China
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping talks by video with patients and medical workers at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. China’s president visited the center of the global virus outbreak Tuesday as Italy began a sweeping nationwide travel ban and people worldwide braced for the possibility of recession. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
India Tibet Virus Outbreak
Exile Tibetans wear protective masks as a precaution against a new coronavirus during a protest march marking the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, as Tibetans gather in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Virus Outbreak Mideast Palestinians
Gaza municipality workers wearing protective gear disinfect a public garden to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Virus Outbreak Mideast Palestinians
A worker wearing protective gear disinfects the offices at the building of Gaza municipality to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Spain Virus Outbreak
Some of the last guests get checked before leaving the locked down H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in La Caleta on the Canary island of Tenerife, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Spain’s health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, Madrid, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, will close for two weeks from Wednesday. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A man pulls a trolley at an emtpy Campo dei Fiori open-air market, in Rome, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The Italian government is assuring its citizens that supermarkets will remain open and stocked after panic buying erupted after broad anti-virus measures were announced nationwide, sparking overnight runs on 24-hour markets. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A traveler, left, wears a mask as he fills out a form at a check point set up by border police inside Rome’s Termini train station, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. In Italy the government extended a coronavirus containment order previously limited to the country’s north to the rest of the country beginning Tuesday, with soldiers and police enforcing bans. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
APTOPIX Italy Virus Outbreak
A traveler wears a mask as she fills out a form at a check point set up by border police inside Rome’s Termini train station, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. In Italy the government extended a coronavirus containment order previously limited to the country’s north to the rest of the country beginning Tuesday, with soldiers and police enforcing bans. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italy Virus Outbreak
Italian soldiers wear mask as they monitor the travelers’ situation inside Rome’s Termini train station, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. In Italy the government extended a coronavirus containment order previously limited to the country’s north to the rest of the country beginning Tuesday, with soldiers and police enforcing bans. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Spain Virus Outbreak
Some of the last guests leave the locked down H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel after getting the all clear in La Caleta on the Canary island of Tenerife, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Spain’s health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, Madrid, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, will close for two weeks from Wednesday. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)
France Virus Outbreak
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran, second right, and AP-HP President Martin Hirsch, third right, listen to professor Pierre Carli, left, the director of the Necker hospital SAMU-SMUR emergency services, during a visit that focused on the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday March 10, 2020 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Hungary Virus Outbreak
An employee of the national public road maintenance company sprays a public restroom door with disinfectant to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus at a rest area of the M70 motorway near Csornyefold, southwestern Hungary, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The authorities have ordered the disinfection of the entire highway system, with special regards to the motorists’ stops. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Gyorgy Varga/MTI via AP)
Germany Virus Outbreak
The German parliament building Reichtstag reflected in a sign with the information that the glass dome is closed in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. German parliament announced that visitors won’t be allowed to access the glass dome of the Reichstag building anymore because of the coronavirus outbreak in Germany. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
France Virus Outbreak
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, salutes medical staff as he leaves the Necker hospital SAMU-SMUR emergency services, after a visit that focused on the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday March 10, 2020 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A man wears a mask as he walks in the train station in Florence, Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Italy entered its first day under a nationwide lockdown after a government decree extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the rest of the country to prevent the spreading of coronavirus. (Jennifer Lorenzini/LaPresse via AP)
Poland Virus Outbreak
An ambulance with crew in protective outfits leaves hospital treating contagious diseases after bringing there a patient suspected of coronavirus infection, in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland Virus Outbreak
An ambulance with crew in protective outfits leaves hospital treating contagious diseases after bringing there a patient suspected of coronavirus infection, in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
APTOPIX Britain Virus Outbreak
People wearing face masks walk across the Millennium footbridge backdropped by the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Starkly illustrating the global east-to-west spread of the new coronavirus, Italy began an extraordinary, sweeping nationwide travel ban on Tuesday while in China, the diminishing threat prompted the president to visit the epicenter and declare: “”We will certainly defeat this epidemic.” (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Spain Virus Outbreak
A perwomanson leaves Txagorritxu Hospital while protecting her face with a mask, in Vitoria, northern Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Spain’s health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, and the same in the Spanish Basque city of Vitoria, will close for two weeks. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Italy Virus Outbreak
A worker sprays disinfectant as sanitization operations against Coronavirus are carried out in the museum hosted by the Maschio Angioino medieval castle, in Naples, Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (Alessandro Pone/LaPresse via AP)
APTOPIX Italy Virus Outbreak
St. Peter’s Square is seen behind a barricade erected at the edge of St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, in Rome, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Italy entered its first day under a nationwide lockdown after a government decree extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the rest of the country to prevent the spreading of coronavirus. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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APTOPIX France Virus Outbreak
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran, second right, and AP-HP President Martin Hirsch, third right, listen to professor Pierre Carli, left, the director of the Necker hospital SAMU-SMUR emergency services, during a visit that focused on the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday March 10, 2020 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Czech Republic Virus Outbreak
Director of the National Theatre Jan Burian poses for a photograph on stage of the closed National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The Czech Republic is banning all public events with more than 100 people and is closing schools in response to the new coronavirus outbreak in Europe. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Iraq Virus Outbreak
A civil defense worker wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the new coronavirus, in the main market, Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Virus Outbreak New York
A woman wears a mask under her costume as she works in Times Square, New York, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. New York state is shuttering schools and houses of worship for two weeks in part of a suburb and sending the National Guard there to help respond to what appears to be the nation’s biggest cluster of cases of the coronavirus.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Trump Virus Outbreak
President Donald Trump, joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, right, speaks to reporters after meeting with Republican senators, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Virus Outbreak California
Passengers from the Grand Princess, a cruise ship carrying multiple people who have tested positive for COVID-19, gesture toward reporters while walking on a tarmac before boarding a chartered plane in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The passengers on the flight are going to San Antonio to be quarantined at Lackland Air Force Base. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Virus Outbreak Pence
Vice President Mike Pence takes questions from reporters in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, as he speaks about the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Trump Virus Outbreak
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March, 10, 2020, about the coronavirus outbreak as White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and Vice President Mike Pence, listen. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Election 2020 Voting Virus Outbreak
A woman uses hand sanitizer after voting in the presidential primary election at the the Summit View Church of the Nazarene Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. The polling place served two precincts as voters who were scheduled to vote at a nearby senior living facility were directed to vote at the church after the facility backed out due to coronavirus concerns. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Election 2020 Washington Virus Outbreak
A worker wears gloves while handling ballots from the Washington state primary election, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at the King County Elections headquarters in Renton, Wash. Protective gloves are mandatory this election for ballot processing workers in light of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Washington state. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Virus Outbreak Celtics Pacers Basketball
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter wears shoes with “wash hands” written on them during the second half of the team’s NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The Celtics won 114-111. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Virus Outbreak South Korea
Workers wearing protective gears disinfect as a precaution against the new coronavirus at a subway car depot in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
Firemen spray disinfectants outside a public market in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak Philippines
Firemen spray disinfectants outside a public market in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
APTOPIX Virus Outbreak South Korea
Workers wearing protective gears disinfect as a precaution against the new coronavirus at the subway station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. (Kim Sun-woong/Newsis via AP)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
A baby wears a protective mask in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Virus Outbreak Philippines
A fireman sprays disinfectant along a road in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Virus Outbreak Thailand
A vendor wears a protective mask as he waits for customers at an outdoor market in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
India Virus Outbreak
An Indian policeman looks out from a tent at an isolation ward set up for possible COVID-19 patients in Jammu, India, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
India Virus Outbreak
Indian women wear masks and walk inside Government Medical College hospital in Jammu, India, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Virus Outbreak Indonesia
A man wears a face mask as he talks on his mobile phone near a banner promoting awareness of the coronavirus outbreak in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Virus Outbreak Indonesia
A women buys hand sanitizers at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Indonesia recorded its first death from coronavirus on the case of a 53 year-old foreign woman who had existing health problems when she was admitted to a hospital, a health ministry official said Wednesday. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Vatican Virus Outbreak
A cameraman wearing a mask is backdropped by the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as he he films in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Pope Francis held his weekly general audience in the privacy of his library as the Vatican implemented Italy’s drastic coronavirus lockdown measures, barring the general public from St. Peter’s Square and taking precautions to limit the spread of infections in the tiny city state.For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Virus Outbreak China Back to Work
In this Tuesday, March 10, 2020, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, people recovered from coronavirus prepare to leave the rehabilitation center after a 14-day quarantine for medical observation in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province. The province at the center of China’s virus outbreak is allowing factories and some other businesses to reopen in a new sign Beijing believes the disease that devastated its economy is being brought under control. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP)
Romania Virus Outbreak
An official sprays disinfectant in a kindergarten to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Miercurea Ciuc, or Csikszereda in Hungarian, central Romania, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The Romanian National Emergency Committee has ordered the nationwide closure of every pre-school and educational institution between 11 and 22 March to allow ample time for the thorough disinfection of such facilities during this period. (Nandor Veres/MTI via AP)
The governor acknowledged that some products are being purchased faster than they can be restocked. He also advised that people should have their prescription medications and two weeks of food and water on hand.
“Please be patient as our business owners work around the clock to keep operations moving,” Ricketts said.
Early Friday evening, the governor signed an official emergency declaration that waived hauling requirements for truckers delivering food and supplies to grocery stores.
Shoppers at Hy-veeon Cass Street have emptied the shelves for food supplies and toilet paper to cope with coronavirus fears. pic.twitter.com/IV7jINmaTZ
— Mia Azizah (@mia_azizah11) March 13, 2020
Social media was abuzz late Thursday night with long grocery lines and full baskets. A stop at the Walgreens near 30th and Dodge Streets about 11 p.m. found the store bustling with customers. Several were buying toilet paper, and shelves were empty of sanitizing wipes and some other cleaning items.
Kathy Siefken, executive director of the Nebraska Grocery Industry Association, said Friday that grocery stores are open for business and there is no food shortage.
“Grocery stores receive multiple trucks every day to restock the food items that have been sold,” Siefken said. “Warehouses are full of food. There is a shortage of paper products and household chemicals, and the supply chain continues to work on these issues.”
World-Herald staff writer Erin Grace contributed to this report.
