Amazon says it will "temporarily prioritize" shipments of popular items such as medical supplies or household staples during the coronavirus crisis.

Amazon is making these and other high-demand goods top priority starting Tuesday and lasting until April 5 to help customers as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads.

"We are seeing increased online shopping and as a result some products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock," said Amazon in a statement obtained by USA TODAY. "With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers."

Amazon says products already on their way to fulfillment centers will not be affected.

As physical stores curtail hours or close to clean and restock, millions of Americans staying at home during the pandemic are leaning more heavily on delivery services to get what they need.

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On Monday, Amazon said it was planning to hire 100,000 more workers and raise minimum pay to $17 an hour through April to keep up with demand.

"We are seeing a significant increase in demand, which means our labor needs are unprecedented for this time of year,'' said Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations, in a blog post Monday.

Charisse Jones contributed to this report. Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.