US President Donald Trump has warned people to stop stockpiling resources amid the coronavirus outbreak.

After speaking to some of the biggest retailers in the US, including Walmart and Target, he has asked citizens not to stockpile essential supplies.

“There’s no need for anybody in the country to hoard essential food supplies,” he insisted.

“They said to me, ‘Could you please tell them, just go and buy, enjoy it, have a nice dinner, relax, because there’s plenty.'”

He continued: “But you don’t have to buy the quantities because it’s hard to refill the stores on a basis as rapid as they’re refilling them.

“They’re going to work 24 hours around the clock keeping their stores stocked. I would like to say people shouldn’t go out and buy – we’re going to all be great.

“They’ve actually asked me to say, ‘Could you buy a little bit less, please?’ I thought I’d never hear that from a retailer.

“We have no shortages other than people are buying anywhere from 3-5 times what they would normally buy. It’s going to be there for a long time. There’s a pent-up demand, that’s incredible.”

Photos and videos have been uploaded to social media showing massive queues of people with shopping trolleys.

Vice President Mike Pence, who is coordinating the United States’ coronavirus task force, added that supplies are fine, as long as everyone shops normally.

“As the President said, he received a commitment from those grocery executives that stores will stay open throughout the days that lie ahead,” Mr Pence told the press conference.

“American families can be confident – your local grocery stores will be open, it’s going to be well supplied. And they specifically asked us to encourage Americans [to] just buy your weekly needs in grocery. Because the grocery stores will remain open.”