Supermarket shelves left bare as Covid sparks panic buying

Supermarkets in Hong Kong are struggling to restock shelves as shops across the city are hit by a panic buying frenzy triggered by the recent surge in Covid cases.

Anxious Hongkongers have been scrambling for days to stock up on essentials over fears that tighter Covid rules and the worsening of the city’s Covid situation will choke off supplies. 

Those looking for dry goods like rice or instant noodles were finding only empty shelves in stores. Netizens also reported that medications like Panadol and ibuprofen are hard to come by.

A netizen in the Facebook group “TAI PO” said she was surprised to find that supermarkets were again “raided” by the panic buyers with shops running out of rice. She also shared a photo showing the empty shelves supposed to be filled with bags of rice.

Other shoppers also took to social media to complain about similar scenes in supermarkets across the city, reporting low stock of medication and instant noodles.

“Panic buying is the cause for such shortages and the supermarkets usually have enough stock to last around two to three months,” one netizen wrote, “after all these years, why are people still not learning their lessons?”

Hong Kong reported 4.285 Covid cases on Wednesday, more than double the 1,619 cases reported on Tuesday. 

Health authorities also reported that some 13,000 preliminary positive and confirmed patients were awaiting hospital admission. Photo uploaded to the internet showed that hospitals are filled to capacity, and patients are required to wait outdoors in the cold on temporary beds.  

Top microbiologist and government advisor Yuen Kwok-yung earlier said it would be better for patients without serious symptoms to stay home and recover by “drinking more water and taking Panadol.”