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Hong Kongers Scramble for Scarce Necessities Amid Coronavirus Outbreak


Friday, 7 February 2020 01:59 WIB

Global


There is increasing anxiety in Hong Kong over the coronavirus outbreak, as citizens began camping outside shops overnight this week in the hope of buying surgical masks while others snapped up household necessities from rice to toilet rolls.

Shelves for toilet paper, tissues, kitchen towels, cleaning wipes and other paper products in supermarkets across Hong Kong were mostly empty Thursday morning after people bought them all the night before, largely thanks to an online rumor that China would stop manufacturing toilet paper for the next two weeks.

“These black-clad young people who say they are against China — look at this now! If China stops exporting stuff here, where would we get our necessities from?” yelled an elderly woman in front of rows of empty shelves where paper products are usually placed in a supermarket. She was referring to demonstrators who have been staging anti-government protests over the past few months in Hong Kong’s ongoing political crisis.

There is also panic buying on rice — a staple food for Hong Kongers — packet noodles and vitamins, leaving the shelves eerily empty, although there was no shortage of meat and vegetables in shops.

“Looks like a war is coming!” joked a supermarket worker in a middle-class neighborhood, where there was a long line at the cashier. Many people leaving the supermarkets were carrying multipacks of toilet rolls, tissues and kitchen rolls.

There has been a severe shortage of surgical masks and sanitizing agents such as alcohol hand rubs and wipes, with many pharmacies posting notes on their windows saying “No masks, alcohol sanitizing agents or wipes available.”

Long queues quickly form outside any shops that announce they have a supply of masks. Thousands braved chilly winds and camped overnight Tuesday outside an outlet at Kowloon Bay that said it had procured a supply of masks from Dubai.

Source : VOA


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