Here's an unusual item to add to the list of out-of-stock items
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2020/03/heres-unusual-item-to-add-to-list-of.html
Shortages of items like toilet paper and paper towel, and food staples like rice, pasta, and potatoes are well documented. Today we found another item that appears to have grown very popular during the shelter in place order - elastic bands, specifically narrow banded elastic.
An early morning visit to the Elk Grove Walmart on Elk Grove Boulevard found the display for the item in the sewing and crafts gone. There was a supply of wide-banded elastic, but they are not suitable for the desired sewing project - hand sewed protective mask.
According to Walmart associate Craig and his hand-held mobile inventory tracker, the store will not have a supply on-hand for one to two weeks from today.
Admittedly, the homemade masks are not medically certified, but the activity of sewing them is a constructive use of time for an in-shelter hobbyist. If nothing else, to those who feel they need even some sort of minimal protection, albeit not medically proven, it could offer some mental reassurances.
On a larger scale, the run on elastic bands shows people are creative and willing to make something on their own as a stop-gap measure. Beyond that, it is yet another indicator of the Trump administration's flat-footed planning for the pandemic that public health experts warned was coming that is now affecting every aspect of life.
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