Islanders don’t appear ready to put any distance between them and their supply of pot and booze.

The provincial government is exploring ways to turn the taps back on after announcing it was “disappointed in Islanders’ response,” to the decision to close all liquor and cannabis stores as of 2 p.m. local time on Thursday. Long lines soon formed at stores around the province on word the time to stock up was nearing an end.

“We have talked about social distancing, we have talked about the importance of staying at home unless it’s essential and that appears to have been ignored in the last three hours,” said Heather Morrison, P.E.I.’s chief public health officer, CBC reports.

“Perhaps we underestimated that alcohol is considered essential for some people.”

Morrison, who told cabinet on Wednesday “that liquor and cannabis stores are not considered essential”, said the government is working on ways to make the two substances available again, perhaps through drive-up or online services. More details are expected this week.

There are 17 government-owned alcohol and pot stores in the province that will be closed but the order does not apply to the province’s breweries or to agency liquor stores in Wood Islands, Murray Harbour, Morell, Kinkora, Eldon, East Royalty, Wellington and Cavendish.

Over 180 people on the island have been tested for COVID-19, CTV reports, with just one person, a 50-year-old woman, having tested positive.

Cannabis and alcohol stores have largely remained open across Canada, for now at least, with Alberta saying it doesn’t have the power to shut them down even if it wanted to. “In Alberta, retail liquor and cannabis stores are independently owned and operated. It is at the discretion of licensees/owners to make decisions that best serve their businesses,” Heather Holmen, manager of communications for Alberta, Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), told Global News.

Some companies, such as Canopy Growth, have taken it upon themselves to close their dispensaries while large parts of the country ride out the coronavirus in self-isolation. “We have a responsibility to our employees, their families, and our communities to do our part to ‘flatten the curve’ by limiting social interactions,” said David Klein, CEO of Canopy Growth. “For us, that means shifting our focus from retail to e-commerce.”

Stores that have remained open across the country are experiencing “unprecedented demand,” Marijuana Business Daily reports, and all have reportedly introduced safety measures to keep customers and employees safe.

With provincial governments maintaining a monopoly on online sales in most provinces, customers are being encouraged to keep their transactions online, where possible.