Lines outside food stores, rationing give us frightening glimpse of coronavirus' impact

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2020: At the Super H Mart Shopping Center in Ridgefield, N.J., an employee of the Korean supermarket wiped down the handles of shopping carts as customers applied hand sanitizer or put on gloves. Free weekend food samples were suspended indefinitely.

Gas falls below $2 a gallon,

 but many people stay home

TODAY, MARCH 24, 2020: At the ALDI in Hackensack, N.J., customers lined up before the supermarket opened at 9 a.m., as an employee wiped down the handles of shopping carts in an enclosure, below.

NO DELIVERY: But customers who were told on Monday the store gets a shipment of toilet paper at 6 a.m. every day were disappointed to find the delivery wasn't made and no toilet paper was available.

WAWA ON ESSEX: Many stations along Essex Street in Hackensack, near Route 80, were selling regular gas for about $1.95 a gallon, but there were no customers at those stations or at the Wawa, above, where the price was about $2.05 a gallon.

COSTCO WHOLESALE IN TETERBORO: This afternoon, the parking lot of the Costco Wholesale warehouse in Teterboro, N.J., had plenty of room for members' cars.

POLICE ON HAND: Although police were on duty outside the entrance, the number of shoppers entering the warehouse wasn't being controlled. Employees were wiping down the handles of shopping carts and there were other measures inside to maintain social distancing.

TOILET PAPER: There was a limited supply of toilet paper for sale, and plenty of bottled water, below. I don't know whether Costco had more toilet paper than what was on display.

PLENTY OF FAVORITES: I filled my cart with organic brown eggs, bottom right; Chobani Less Sugar Greek Yogurt, frozen Wild Gulf Shrimp, the Ultimate Fish Stick, made from wild-caught Pollock; Maine Lobster Ravioli, organic agave syrup and Organic No-Salt Seasoning. Other items included Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese, a 3-pound bag of raw California almonds; and 2 hand-crafted soups. A package of toilet paper was below the basket.

SOCIAL DISTANCING: A clear plexiglass barrier has been erected between employees at the register and Costco members, above and below.

CHECKING YOUR RECEIPT: At the exit, the Costco employee didn't take and mark my receipt, as is usually done, but just glanced at my cart and then at the receipt I held out, and nodded for me to leave.