You can’t buy ‘nonessential’ items at some Walmart, Target stores. What’s off-limits?

Walmart, Target, and Cosco stores in some states are barred from selling “non-essential” items, including clothing and electronics, in order to try to curb the spread of coronavirus, media outlets reported.

Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development issued an order on March 31 prohibiting “big box” retailers from selling goods related to arts and crafts, clothing, beauty, carpet and flooding, entertainment, electronics, furniture, home and garden, jewelry, sports equipment, toys, paint, and photo services.

“Large ‘big box’ retailers generate significant shopping traffic by virtue of their size and the variety of goods offered in a single location,” Lindsay Kurrle, secretary of the agency said in a statement. “This volume of shopping traffic significantly increases the risk of further spread of this dangerous virus to Vermonters and the viability of Vermont’s health care system.”

The items will still be available for ordering online, delivery and curbside pickup, according to the statement.

Howard County in Indiana issued a similar order on March 27, prohibiting “non-essential” goods from being sold for two weeks, according to a statement.

Some Walmart stores in Springfield, Missouri have also stopped selling “non-essential” items in store, according to Springfield News-Leader.

This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 4:54 PM with the headline "You can’t buy ‘nonessential’ items at some Walmart, Target stores. What’s off-limits?."