Lockdown orders in 21 U.S. states and another 53 locales are now keeping at least 196 million people at home, according to the New York Times.  The orders, designed to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, have exploded over the last week; orders as of Wednesday are affecting nearly twice as many people as were affected last weekend (see “Lockdown Orders that Close Non-Essential Retailers Now Affect Over 100 Million People”).

The lockdown orders close “non-essential” retail, such as comic and game stores, and may prohibit using employees to ship orders to customers as well.

The scale of the orders means that almost all commerce in comics, games, and merch is coming to a halt, as warehouses shipping those products to stores also shut down.  Mass merchants and mail order retailers that also handle food and other essential items are still operating in lockdown areas, although both have more weighty responsibilities than making sure they're keeping geek culture products in stock.