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Toilet paper and hand sanitizer are in short supply at Illinois supermarkets. At gun shops, firearms and ammunition are flying off the shelves, too.

As the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, spreads through the state and the country, Illinois firearms retailers say sales of guns and ammunition have substantially increased over the past two weeks and especially in recent days.

“It’s a lot of a panic situation,” said Jim Feagans, who owns J. Gooch Shooting Sports in Springfield. “Firearms and ammunition are going crazy.”

In order to buy a gun in Illinois, residents mus...