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Coronavirus Crisis: Long Lines, Empty Shelves At Grocery Stores

BOSTON (CBS) - If you want to buy toilet paper, you may be out of luck; some stores in Massachusetts are sold out.

It didn't matter if you went to a massive wholesale club, or your nearby supermarket, there were huge lines and empty shelves. The coronavirus threat, and two week quarantine, has driven people to stock up.

"Yesterday I was in Dedham," said one shopper at BJ's Wholesale Club. "I left because first of all the line was so long. It went almost to the deli part which is almost the whole length of the store. The shelves were empty."

Inside a Market Basket in Waltham, you would have thought a snowstorm was coming. But the store was keeping up with demands.

"We find that we are selling a lot of staple items and canned items," said Joe Schmidt of Market Basket. "Tuna fish, a lot of paper goods."

Where toilet paper was sold out, a lot of stores posted apologetic signs. Other stores like Costco limited sales. "They're only allowing one per person but they have tons of toilet paper," a Costco shopper said.

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