Clark County Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick speaks to the press regarding the supply chain of food and supplies available to local groceries and markets and why there is no need for panic buying, Sunday March 15, 2020.
Sunday, March 15, 2020 | 3:44 p.m.
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Clark County officials and community stakeholders have a message for residents: Don’t follow the urge to stock up on supplies like groceries, toilet paper and medicine amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
They say to be strategic with your purchases, noting groceries will again be on the shelves once stores and suppliers have time to catch up with the demand.
“I don’t want to have seniors going to the store afraid that someone’s going to take things out of their baskets,” Clark County Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick said “At the end of the day, it’s OK to buy two weeks worth of supplies, but it’s not OK to buy a month’s worth. We have many people within our community that are on a fixed income that don’t have the ability to stock up so we need to ensure that when they can go to the grocery store that there is product available to them.”
Around 92% of goods sold in Vegas come from out of state, officials said. Despite the valley’s reliance on out-of-state supply chains, assuaging the unprecedented demand for groceries and supplies is not necessarily uncharted territory, said Dave Brower, vice president of Risk Management for Truline Corp., a trucking company based in Clark County.
“This is a general, annual sort of occurrence,” he said, noting the demand for extra groceries during the holiday season. “The only difference is we have an expectation for it and start setting up in August. We’re seeing similar transportation requirements this time, it’s just that it happened over night.”
Brower is confident trucking companies have the ability to make the adjustments necessary to meet demands. He also said supply chains are pushing out more products to keep commodities on shelves.
“There’s no need to panic. We’ve been authorized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to have some leeway with the hours of service for our drivers,” he said, adding that the frequency of shipments to stores have increased since last week.
“Every day, we’re making adjustments to make sure stores can even get deliveries each day if they need it,” he said.
The Nevada Retail Association also recommends tips for shopping during the outbreak, including making a plan on what might be needed for two weeks — the average length of time that a person or family that comes down with coronavirus may be quarantined — and having a prepared list of items needed before going out. They also recommend that citizens avoid shopping during rush hours to reduce wait times and large crowds.
Las Vegas Metro Chamber President Mary Beth Sewald said that despite the reported coronavirus cases in Clark County the chamber is still open for business.
“We want to try to allay those fears and try to discourage panic, because panic buying begets panic buying,” she said.
She added that members of the chamber have assured her there are supplies available and that it’s simply a matter of keeping up with the demand.
The chamber is also providing additional resources through its small business administration such as emergency loans to its members as well as small businesses at large.
Kirkpatrick also reminded citizens to remember their humanity and to be respectful and gracious to supermarket employees as well.
“They’re getting brow beat by so many people,” she said. “The folks working in the check-out line and the folks working in the back are part of our community and they’re our residents. We need to treat them like that.”
