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Tags: toilet paper | soap | household items | pandemic

Americans Going Into Mexico for Toilet Paper, Household Items

empty supermarket shelves
(Marta Lavandier/AP)

By    |   Thursday, 19 March 2020 05:36 PM EDT

Americans are crossing the border into Mexico to buy toilet paper and other essential household items they are unable to find at home, according to reports.

The Costco in Tijuana has been packed every morning with people from California looking for bread, water, pasta, beans, and rice. Mexico only has 118 confirmed cases of coronavirus, far fewer than the 13,000-plus reported in the United States.

More than 600 people lined up outside the Costco to shop for essentials Tuesday.  

"It's tough for us to come down here to get things, but we're going to try it," Maria Castro, who lives in Los Angeles, told Fox5 San Diego.  

"It's still not very bad right now here, they have a lot of products," Carla Jimenez, who lives north of the border in San Diego, told the news outlet.

"They're not selling you more than four packages of anything; four is the maximum."

Essential household items are hard to get in the U.S., especially in places where the virus has hit hard, though industry experts say toilet paper will be back on the shelf soon.

"If there's no toilet paper on the shelf, then guess what?" David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, said in an email to the Deseret News. "Toilet paper manufacturers have a huge incentive to get that toilet paper onto the shelf as quickly as possible."

Solange Reyner

Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.

© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


US
Americans are crossing the border into Mexico to buy toilet paper and other essential household items they are unable to find at home, according to reports.
toilet paper, soap, household items, pandemic
237
2020-36-19
Thursday, 19 March 2020 05:36 PM
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