Long lines are forming around the block outside hunting shops as Americans rush to stock up on firearms and body armor.
As fears grow over the spread of the Wuhanvirus outside China, in the last several days, shoppers have flocked to supermarkets across UK and US panic-buying essential goods.
Stores run out of goods on a daily basis as wary shoppers stock up, fearing the impact and duration of government emergency plans. Reports are rampant of fights breaking out among customers who are determined to buy as much as they can more than the next person.
Add firearms and related ammunition to hand sanitizers and toilet papers as top trending goods among panic-buyers recently. New York, North Carolina, Washington and California saw a massive surge in gun sales.
Gabriel Vaughn, owner of the Sportman's Arms in Petaluma, told KTVU, "I've sold 12 handguns in two hours... Any time people are uneasy, sales go up, and it's always the same, guns and ammo."
John Gore, 39, who was waiting outside the Martin B. Retting store on Saturday, told the LA Times: "Politicians and anti-gun people have been telling us for the longest time that we don’t need guns. But right now, a lot of people are truly scared, and they can make that decision themselves."
Most of the buyers are reportedly not just preppers or gun enthusiasts, but first time buyers and leftists who would normally be pushing for stricter gun control measures.
“People who tell me that they don’t like guns, but they’re here to begrudgingly buy one,” Vaughn, told KTVU. “And if it makes somebody feel safe and they’re legal to own one, then sure.”
Many buyers were shocked to find that the claim by gun control activists in US - that it is easier to buy a gun than to buy groceries - is false.
According to Omaha Outdoors report:
"Here at Omaha Outdoors, we’ve been inundated with inquiries from out-of-state folks – many from California – asking if we can ship them a gun directly. The answer is, of course, no. Despite what politicians and many in popular media claim, you can’t buy a gun online and have it shipped to your house. Well, you could, if you were a federally licensed firearm dealer (or federally licensed curio and relic collector) and your home was your place of business. Other than that, no, you can’t buy a gun online and have it shipped, especially across state lines, to your home."
Some states including Ohio, New Jersey and New York have already imposed emergency measures like closing schools and private businesses.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said government will introduce emergency legislation to give government powers that will be "very significant and a departure from the way we do things in peacetime."
"We are in a war against an invisible killer and we have to do all we can to stop it," Hancock said.
Worldwide, there have been nearly 180,000 reported cases of the Wuhanvirus. About 80 000 have recovered and 7,000 have died of the Virus.