First went the hand sanitizer, disinfectants and toilet paper.

Now hair clippers and hair dye are flying off shelves.

In recent weeks, Americans’ shopping patterns are serving as a reflection of how the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve and affect daily lives.

“You can definitely see that as people have stayed home, their focus shifted,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the Today Show, Friday.

After stocking up on food and consumable products, shoppers turned to puzzles, games and other timeless forms of entertainment as well as education, he said.

Now, sales are showing that — without the ability to venture to a hair salon — folks are getting shaggy.

“People are starting to need a haircut,” McMillon said. “You see more beard trimmers and hair color and things like that. It’s interesting to watch the dynamic play out.”

Here’s a look at how buying patterns have shifted in the last few weeks:

Week 1: Hand sanitizers, soaps and disinfectants

The first wave of heightened shopping showed consumers were buying up various means to protect themselves as the virus spread in the United States — masks, cleaning products and hand sanitizers.

During the week ending March 7, hand sanitizer sales skyrocketed 470% from the year before, according to Nielsen data. Aerosol disinfectant product sales shot up 385%.

Consumers nationwide were behaving as if they were preparing for a major storm.

“We are working to keep our shelves packed with products similar to when a blizzard is being called for and folks know they might be stuck at home,” Andrea Karns, vice president of sales and marketing at Karns Foods, a family-owned chain of nine stores in Pennsylvania, told CNN Business in early March.

Week 2: Toilet paper

Then, in a buying binge that flummoxed many and served as an inspiration for Covid-19 memes and calculators, shoppers stockpiled toilet paper.

Panic buying begat even more panic buying, and the run on bathroom tissue sent ripple effects through the supply chain.

“Most mills are 24 hours, 7 days a week operations already. They are running on fixed capacity,” Tom Sellars, CEO of Sellars Absorbent Materials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, told CNN Business last month. “It’s not like there’s an idle machine that can be cranked up to increase production.”

Nielsen reported that bath tissue, facial tissue and paper towel products all saw triple-digit sales increases during the week that ended March 14. That same week, aerosol disinfectant sales spiked 519%, according to Nielsen.

Weeks 3 and 4: Spiral hams and baking yeast

As hunkering down at home transitioned to settling in, Americans turned to baking.

In the weeks ending March 21 and March 28, baking yeast sales grew more than any other consumer packaged goods product, up 647% and 457%, respectively, over the same weeks in 2019.Spiral hams were also popular, with sales spiking 622% and 413%, in that same time period, according to Nielsen.

Flour and yeast makers say there are no supply shortages of their products (plus, there’s never really a shortage of yeast). They’re just trying to play catch-up much like other manufacturers whose products are suddenly in demand.

“It’s going to be a minute for the supply chain to react to so much more demand in such a short amount of time,” Sherri Merrill, procurement manager for Bob’s Red Mill, told Quartz.

Week 5: Hair clippers and hair dye on the rise

Spiral ham was still king during the week ending April 4, but Nielsen’s data also showed that consumers were starting to gravitate toward other products to maintain their manes.

Sales of hair clippers increased 166% and hair coloring products rose 23%, from the same period a year earlier, according to Nielsen.

Americans have become do-it-yourself barbers and stylists as hair salons across the nation have temporarily shuttered to maintain social distancing measures.

Monique Campbell, owner of Endless Extensions in Dallas, told the Dallas Morning News that closing down is financially stressful, but she understands the situation.

“By asking a stylist to come to you or you going to them, it’s still very high risk,” she said, according to the report. “I don’t want to put myself at risk [of catching the coronavirus] just to make sure someone’s hair is pretty.”

via: https://fox2now.com/news/walmart-ceo-says-were-in-the-hair-color-phase-of-panic-buying/

Photo Credit: wfla.com

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com)— Tony Trimble was met with a round of applause as he walked out of his room at St. Louis Children’s Hospital Friday to head home after recovering from the coronavirus. 

The 18-year-old was the first pediatric COVID-19 patient at the hospital. He was hospitalized on March 25 after testing positive. Tony, who was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, has gotten support from loved ones and community members during his journey. 

His progress was tracked on the Prayers for Tony Trimble Facebook group.

“March 25th is an evening they will never forget. When I received the call from another friend, then shortly after heard from Carol, my heart sank. My eyes starting leaking,” Kay Holdenried-Bay wrote on Facebook.

On Thursday, Tony tested negative for the virus twice and doctors began discussing to discharge him. 

Not only has he got support from the community, Tony has received special messages from St. Louis Blues Player Vladimar Tarasenko, Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum and the Lindbergh High School football team.

“He’s a walking miracle! Carol, Marc, Charlie, the Hof and Trimble families (and friends) are so thankful to each and every one of you for all the prayers, well wishes, videos, words of encouragement, etc… he has watched every video numerous times!,” Holdenried-Bay wrote.

via: https://www.kmov.com/news/teen-with-special-needs-released-from-st-louis-childrens-hospital-after-beating-coronavirus/article_198bca54-7be3-11ea-b625-5ffab2598d89.html

Photo Credit: kmov.com

(CNN) — Like most of the world, the residents of a small town in Iowa are stuck at home, feeling isolated, alone, and trying their best to stay positive during the coronavirus pandemic.

So when an anonymous donor gave everyone in the town of Earlham $150 worth of gift cards for food, the community received something more valuable than money: hope.

It started on March 26, when Earlham Mayor Jeff Lillie received a call from a friend who told him there was a donor interested in interjecting money into the town’s economy. Earlham, population 1,450, is 30 miles west of Des Moines,

At first, the donor, who did not reveal their identity to the mayor, said they would buy 100 gift cards from three local businesses. An hour later, his friend called Lillie again and said the donor was bumping the number up to 250. An hour after that, the number was raised to 500.

“I said to him, at 500, you’re darn near giving a gift card to every single household in Earlham,” Lillie said. “When I told him there were 549 households in town, he said ‘Done.’ And that was it. I was ecstatic because it made sure everyone would get a card.”

But what Lillie didn’t know was that the donor wasn’t going to buy 549 cards in all — they were buying 549 gift cards from each of the three businesses. In total, they donated $82,350, meaning each business received more than $27,000.

Exactly one week later, every person in town woke up to a surprise in their mailbox: An envelope containing a letter from the city and three $50 gift cards to West Side Bar and Grille, Hometown Market, a grocery store, and Trostel’s Broken Branch, a restaurant and coffee shop.

The donation “completely overwhelmed” Lillie, who knew people around town who had been laid off and struggling due to the pandemic. The cards, he said, gave them a reason to smile and “a way to tell them help is on the way.”

“It came at the end of a couple really hard weeks,” Lillie told CNN, holding back tears.

“I remember going home and walking through the front door, and I couldn’t speak for a minute. I was just crying like a baby, and my little boy saw me and wrapped around my leg and said, ‘Daddy what’s wrong?’ And eventually I was able to choke it out: ‘Buddy, right now, for once, nothing’s wrong.'”Click to find out more about a new promotionDon’t miss this content from our sponsor

Giving local businesses a chance of survival

One of the restaurants involved in the gift cards, Trostel’s Broken Branch, was extremely new. So new that the eatery was set to officially open its doors just days before Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all nonessential businesses in the state to shut down on March 17.

“We were in the middle of interviews for our employees, hiring some waitstaff and trying to get everything ready,” restaurant owner Jennifer Trostel told CNN. “Just about then, everything closed down. It hit right when we were going to open our restaurant.”

While other restaurants were equipped to transition to takeout only, Trostel, who owns the restaurant with her husband Troy, said they were completely “unprepared” to make that move. Without any staff or a running computer system to take in orders or payments, the Trostels were stuck at a dead end.

That was until the anonymous donor saved their business. When she got the phone call telling her about the donation, Trostel said she was so shocked her body was covered in goosebumps.

“It gave us hope,” she said. “To be able to pay our bills and know that it’s OK, we don’t have to close our doors forever. We’ll be here when this is over. I don’t think we could be able to say that without the donation.”

Any Earlham resident who doesn’t need the gift cards or won’t use them can drop them off at a bill pay slot at City Hall. The cards will be distributed to families in the Earlham Community School District who need assistance.

When asked what he would tell the anonymous donor if he could ever meet them, Lillie said he “couldn’t even find the words.”

“I would tell them thank you 549 times,” Lillie said. “It would be like meeting a hero.”

via: https://www.kmov.com/news/anonymous-donor-gives-every-household-in-an-iowa-town-150-in-gift-cards-for-food/article_bdd1ff3b-ca94-52a2-a68d-9ac9a3e1bfbb.html

Photo Credit: Jeff Little

A government agency in the US state of Hawaii has reported an increase in the number of women reporting landlords asking for sexual favours in exchange for rent.The Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women noted more cases being reported, suggesting that landlords are “preying” on tenants’ financial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.Due to recent layoffs and furloughs, only 69 per cent of US renters were able to make rent on April 1.

Immigration attorney Kevin Block says instead of asking for rent, some landlords are asking for “other arrangements” and even sending graphic sexual images when female tenants ask about rent.”I am concerned because reported incidents indicate a greater number of unreported incidents,” Mr Block said.Khara Jabola-Carolus, Executive Director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women says sexual harassment by landlords makes it hard for women to shelter-in-place.”There was no plan upfront to prepare for the physical and sexual violence from the combination of shelter-in-place, lost income and systemic sexism,” Ms Jabola-Carolus said.

“We need to get the information on rights and resources out as fast and wide as we can. There is help.”An online guide was created by the Hawaii State Commission for women if they are victimised by a landlord. The Commission will offer guidance on the emergency rent assistance and will also be keeping a database of bad landlords.

Anyone victimised by a landlord should file a complaint. Normally, tenants would have 180 days to report the incident to the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC), which takes jurisdiction unless it’s a federally funded entity.Since HCRC is closed due to the pandemic, victims are advised to contact the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.Ms Jabola-Carolus added: “Retaliation by a landlord for filing a complaint against him is illegal. If your landlord changes the locks or shuts off your utilities for complaining about his sexual predation, you can file a landlord-tenant TRO against your landlord and the court will take these cases during the crisis. Please contact Legal Aid Society of Hawaii for help with retaliation. There are no income limits for their help when it comes to fair housing matters.”

via: https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-sex-for-rent-reports-increase-in-hawaii-since-covid19-pandemic/b5954e87-5f1b-47b8-9406-ea3826142323

Photo Credit: 9news.com

(CNN) — An 86-year-old woman who broke coronavirus social distancing guidelines and grabbed onto another patient’s IV pole in the emergency room was shoved, fell to the floor, hit her head and later died, according to a report from the New York City Police Department.

Janie Marshall, broke the recommended six-foot space between herself and patient Cassandra Lundy, 32, when she grabbed Lundy’s IV pole to get her balance at the Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn on March 28.

A family member told CNN that Marshall had dementia.

Lundy was initially given a summons by the hospital police for disorderly conduct, according to the Times, but after the medical examiner ruled Marshall’s death a homicide, Lundy was arrested and charged with manslaughter and assault on April 2, the NYPD said.

Lundy faces charges of manslaughter in the first and second degree, assault in the second degree, and criminally negligent homicide, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Lundy.

In a statement to CNN, Woodhull Hospital said they are working with the NYPD on the investigation.

“We are terribly saddened by this death. We are committed to ensuring a safe, health-focused environment in these very demanding times so our heroic health care workers can continue to deliver the quality, compassionate care New Yorkers need more than ever,” the hospital said in a statement.

Antoinette Leonard-Jean Charles, Marshall’s grandniece, told CNN that Marshall had been admitted to the ER on March 27 after experiencing stomach pains related to a bowel obstruction. She said the hospital has not been communicative in providing details on how Marshall died. Instead, she has been relying on local news reports to get more information on the altercation.

The hospital had cited the health privacy law HIPAA as to why they could not give more information, even though her mother and Marshall’s niece, Eleanor Leonard, was listed as her next of kin, Charles said.

The hospital told CNN it was unable to release further information.

Though Charles only knows as much as what’s in the police report, she speculated that because Marshall had dementia, she may not have understood her surroundings, so she wandered around, eventually running into Lundy amid the chaos of the ER that night.

Marshall, born in 1934 and the youngest of 12 children, was “one of the sweetest, friendliest women you could ever meet,” said Charles. According to her obituary, Marshall worked for the Social Security Administration and was one of the first African American women to receive a Commissioner Citation, the agency’s highest award.

Marshall “never wanted to be anybody’s victim,” she added, which was perhaps the hardest part of learning of her death — that the family wasn’t there and Marshall was ultimately a victim of circumstances in being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As the hospitals in New York City and across the country grapple with surging coronavirus-related hospitalizations, Charles stressed that violence in uncertain times will never change anything.

One fearful action could lead to serious, unintended consequences, she said.

“Violence is not going to change anything.”

via: https://www.kmov.com/news/86-year-old-who-broke-social-distancing-space-in-er-and-grabbed-iv-pole-died/article_c743a57c-22fa-5f04-b288-527bd1eadbef.html

Photo Credit: Marshall Ritzel/AP