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The shopping experience at local grocery stores progressed from somewhat of a manic Monday to a much tamer Thursday during the first full week of fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
There were long lines and growing shortages of certain foods -- notably eggs, bread, canned vegetables and ground beef -- at the beginning of the week, as shoppers reacted to dire warnings from President Donald Trump on Monday.
Toilet paper shortage has continued to be a problem, both locally and around the nation.
But aside from that important item, the major grocery outlets in Altoona have withstood the shopping rush thus far and been able to keep shelves stocked with most food and household items.
"I have confidence," Diana George of Altoona said of being able to continue to buy what she and her family need after visiting Walmart in Altoona on Thursday. "They're doing a good job of restocking."
"I feel as far as food, I think they're doing a good job," Heather Johnson of Tyrone said while shopping at Walmart. "But I have a 2-year-old at home who needs diapers and wipes, and obviously there's no diapers and wipes."
Johnson said her mother works in local retail and added, "I talk to her every day, and the workers are doing a great job keeping everything stocked."
What local shoppers are experiencing at grocery outlets is similar to that of people in other places around the country.
"I just got in last night from North Carolina, and it looks about the same down there as here," Sue McKelvey of Duncansville said while shopping at Martin's in Altoona.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced a week ago today that Pennsylvania schools would be closed for two weeks. That set off a shopping frenzy over the next four days, from last Friday through Monday, according to Mike Cavallo, store manager at Weis Markets in Altoona.
"It was just nonstop," Cavallo noted of that four-day stretch. "We actually set two store single records (for shopping) those days -- Friday and Monday."
With so many shoppers packing stores across the area, there was added emphasis on distribution from the grocers' parent companies.
"We're working closely with all of our supply partners," said Ashley Flower, manager of public relations for Giant Co., the parent company of Martin's. "There is high demand across the board. ... They're doing a great job getting us restocked and putting products back on our shelves."
How did the shelves look at local stores throughout the week? The Mirror made about 20 visits to stores such as Martin's, Giant Eagle, Weis, Walmart and Hollidaysburg Hometown Market over the past four days to gauge what shoppers were seeing.
Here's a breakdown of each day:
Monday
It was tough out there. Lots of shoppers. Long lines at checkouts. People not really keeping much distance from one another. As the day went on, a growing shortage of many food items.
By the time most people got off work at 5 p.m. and went to the stores, they were finding shortages on eggs, bread, cheese, yogurt and vegetables (canned and frozen).
Ground beef also was running low. Calling one store, the employee said he had a small amount of ground beef left but would hold it back for a short period of time if desired.
Supplies of other meats, pasta and soup also were running low at certain stores, as well as frozen French fries and potatoes (a trend that would continue throughout the week).
Milk was in strong supply, as were frozen pizza and frozen treats such as ice cream and popsicles.
This was the last day of the week you could still find a decent amount of toilet paper for sale. Stores began putting limits on the amount of toilet paper and paper towels each customer could purchase.
"Like all retailers, the availability of certain products varies on a store-by-store basis, with items like hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, water, paper towels and toilet paper currently in highest demand," Dick Roberts, spokesman for Giant Eagle's corporate office, wrote the Mirror in a statement Thursday.
"While limitations on most items will be made by stores based on product availability, all locations will be temporarily limiting purchases of paper towels, toilet paper, milk, bread and disinfectant wipes to one package of each per guest and bottled water to four packages per guest."
Tuesday
There were significantly fewer people shopping compared to Monday, so checkout lines weren't as long.
Meat and pasta were still in short supply at various stores, and diapers and wipes were running low. The toilet paper shortage began to fully take shape, as there was little or none to be had at several stores.
Bread and eggs were still in high demand and hadn't yet been fully restocked. There was more ground beef available than Monday, but still nowhere near full capacity.
For most all other food items, the shelves were beginning to fill up once again. Except for frozen potatoes, which remained low.
Wednesday
There were definitely fewer cars in the parking lots at stores, and fewer customers inside throughout the day. This allowed stores to restock their shelves and start to get back to normal with most items.
Customers were clearly practicing better social distancing, with more space between people in the stores (although that also could have been the result of fewer shoppers overall).
Eggs and bread remained in short supply, as well as canned pasta and macaroni and cheese. Chicken supplies had dropped a bit, but there was more ground beef available.
One other observation: No shoppers were wearing gloves. National TV programs have been showing people shopping in large cities, and many were wearing gloves, but that trend has yet to hit this area.
Thursday
If you didn't know there was a national crisis going on, you wouldn't have been able to figure it out by visiting local grocery stores.
Just about everything seemed pretty much back to normal. Except for toilet paper, of course. And for some odd reason, frozen potatoes.
"I'm not concerned," Johnson said of a potential toilet paper shortage. "If things do get worse, you have T-shirts to use if you need to."
Several stores were crowded around lunchtime, and customers had plenty to choose from as the shelves were close to fully stocked for most items.
The stores all have sanitary wipes available as you enter, but they were running low in one location.
This was the first day that there seemed to be a good number of elderly shoppers out at the stores. The elderly are the most susceptible to issues associated with coronavirus, but many could be seen walking the aisles.
With another weekend starting, and the coronavirus concerns growing, it's likely that more shoppers will be visiting stores to stock up beginning today.
"We're prepared for similar (to last weekend)," Flower said. "We're not sure which way it will go, but we're ready."