Two of my friends messaged me separately this morning to say our local Sainsbury's had no toilet paper left and that Tesco had no paracetamol or ibuprofen left.
I just don't get it. Why, why are people panic buying? I can sorta understand medicines (at a push!!) or anti bacterial soap/hand gel but loo roll???? How is that going to prevent coronavirus? And I've seen the clips on FB of people screaming and fighting over trolleys filled up with just loo roll. WTF?!
Doctors who work with infectious diseases are telling us not to panic. Why are people trusting what they see online instead of listening to the experts? Stockpiling hurts the most vulnerable people in society. Those who can only afford to shop once a week due to benefits or those who can only shop with a carer. Or people who can't shop around and can only walk to their nearest supermarket.
Sadly another example of the selfish society we've become. Me, me, me. Sometimes living on a remote island is very appealing.
I live in a deprived area of the UK and the shelves are pretty much the same as normal, albeit for hand sanitiser. I think many people struggle financially to manage a weekly shop let alone stockpiling. It does seem a bit selfish. I heard about an ill gentleman who relies on hand sanitiser as he has very low immunity due to previous chemotherapy for a blood cancer - sadly the panic buying has resulted in him not being able to get any.
ReplyDeletePoor guy :-( None of the schools in our area can get hand sanitiser. We've been instructed to make children wash their hands with plain old soap before and after playtimes and lunchtimes AND before they go home. Bit tricky as only 3 classrooms out of 12 actually have sinks! Luckily I'm one of them but it's eating into learning time. Madness!
DeleteMy son in Australia first alerted us to the toilet paper shortage over there last week. He can't believe it but as its his birthday next weekend I've sent him a 4 pack for his birthday present lol. x
ReplyDeleteLOL!!!!
DeleteI think the issue is the length of time that someone might have to stay in quarantine. If you are identified as having been in contact with someone with the virus then you are supposed to stay home for 14 days - since there is a long incubation period you might not show symptoms until near the end of that time. Now you are sick for a couple of weeks - even if it is not severe it can knock you off your feet for 7 to 14 days. Then - you still can't break quarantine until you have shed all the virus, and had two clear tests - and some people are finding that this takes 2 to 3 weeks even though you feel fine. That means a minimum of 6 weeks confined to quarters. If like me you live alone then you could be a bit stuck if you don't have some supplies on hand.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm more worried about is the toll it could take on the general workforce - you may have supplies in warehouses but who loads them onto the trucks - who drives the trucks - who unloads them at the shops - who stocks the shelves and mans the tills?
80% of people will be fine once they've had a nasty couple of weeks but it's the sheer volume of people who could be affected - all at the same time. That's just as big an issue as the virus itself.
Good points! So far here in Scotland there are only a couple of confirmed cases. My main concern was that folk are stockpiling without any real thought behind it.
DeleteI was practically the only person at the grocery store this morning who didn't have giant packages of toilet paper in their buggy - and several had more than one. Walmart had run out of hand sanitizer despite a sign saying "only one per customer".
ReplyDeleteI hope the cashiers were enforcing that rule. Hand santiser is only going to work if EVERYONE keeps their hands clean!! What has happened to common sense??
Delete