Mexican authorities ordered the shutdown of all nonessential businesses and industries for the entire month of April in hopes of stemming the spread of the coronavirus. To the shock of many, added to the list of nonessential industries was all alcoholic beverage production. Within days a whole new set of panic buying was taking place. Forget the run on toilet paper, beer hoarding was on in cities and towns throughout Mexico.

In the northern border state of Nuevo Leon, Gov. Jaime Rodríguez Calderón went a step further and recommended banning alcohol sales as well. He worried that with families holed up in their homes and under stress, alcohol consumption could contribute to spikes in domestic violence. To the south in Tabasco state, the governor outright banned sales. Mayors in other cities limited hours of alcohol purchases.

Soon videos of shoppers in long checkout lines with carts full of Mexico’s beloved beers were making the rounds of social media.