I'm always amused at the people who's defensive reaction to information that is uncomfortable for them is, "stop panicking!"
It's not panic. It's simply information they are not comfortable hearing.
I have limited concern for my own safety. I work 100% remotely now. I have land and a cabin in a rural area I can escape to if things get bad. I'm well stocked here, as well as at my land. I can reduce my contact to virtually nothing for the next year.
That doesn't reduce my overall concern for my friends, family, city, state, and country as a whole. I also have some vague concern for those friends in other countries.
Hundreds of thousands of American's will probably die from this between now and when we get a vaccine. I don't minimize that loss just because most might be over 60.
Millions more are going to have the educations, careers, and family lives disrupted by major illness and hospitalization that might leave their lungs permanently damaged.
Tens of millions more will lose jobs and businesses and retirement money. Anyone trying to minimize the impact this is going to cause, hasn't thought it through or has been watching too much Fox News.
While the people with stacked carts look silly, there is some logic to it. It is my policy and what I've recommended to friends and family is when you go to the store, stock up as much as you possibly can. That is not panic. That is risk mitigation. That allows you longer periods of time before you have to go back for more. Every trips to a grocery store is another risk of contamination. Reducing the frequency you have to be exposed to that, reduces you risk.
And given the nature of exponential infection, is is safer to stand in the lines now than it will be two weeks from now. My advice is to go every day now and load up the maximum you can until you are out of freezer and storage space. That way you can hunker down for a long time. There is no waste. If we got a vaccine tomorrow, you just have a lot of supplies that you can eat down over time (avoid perishables). Risk/reward game theory suggests load up those carts now. And when you finally have to go back, load up to the maximum again so you can get so you optimize reward for risk and not have to do that very often.
Luckily my carnivore diet has simplified things greatly. All I need is meat, salt, and water. I have chest freezers here and at the cabin filled with hundreds of pounds of grass-fed beef and organs. very high nutrition:volume ratio. And when I need more, it's online ordered from a Texas ranch and they ship it to me and leave it in front of my door. I order in volume.
And I highly doubt the electricity with cut off or the water will stop coming out of the tap. I could go months without going into a grocery store if I had to.