GREENSBORO, N.C. — Parking lots were empty at The Friendly Center in Greensboro as the city's stay-at-home order went into effect Friday afternoon.
"The usual streets that are always busy, you know, 5 o'clock traffic, 3 o'clock after school, like it's actually starting to look like a ghost town. It's super eerie and scary," said Terell Holden.
The Friendly Center closed all non-essential stores at 5 p.m. but many stores had already closed before then. Customers made one last rush at stores like Barnes and Noble.
"I went to Home Depot earlier and the lot was pretty full. So, I guess people are getting ready to be stuck at home," said Royall Spence.
The stay-at-home order means you should avoid leaving your house, you still can if you need to, for essentials like medicine and food. You can find a full list of where you can and can't go under the order here.
Terell Holden said she and her family finished all the shopping they had left to do. The question now is how long they'll stay inside.
"How are we gonna go back to normal you know? It's pretty scary, you just gotta have faith and take one day at a time," said Holden
Essential businesses will still be open under Greensboro's stay-at-home order. That means the post office and grocery stores at the Friendly Center are not closing.
Restaurants offering take-out and delivery will also stay open.