ParknShop, Watsons restrict sale of essential items amid panic buying

Two major consumer retail chains in the city have started rationing some food and drug items on Friday to curb panic buying that has plagued the city over the past week amid fears of a citywide lockdown for mass Covid testing.

Supermarket chain ParknShop announced limits of five items per customer on staples such as rice, eggs, toilet tissue, bleach, hand wash and disinfectant materials, while pharmacy Watsons put the same limits on medication for pain, fever and colds.

The move came after a surge in Covid-19 cases, fluctuating supply of fresh food and fears about lockdown have made citizens empty shelves of supermarkets in recent days.

Photos started to circulate online this week showing food items and daily necessities being stripped bare from the shelves of the city’s supermarkets.

Hong Kong officials have repeatedly urged people against panic buying this week, saying supplies were adequate.

The panic buying is also reminiscent of the earlier days of the pandemic in 2020 when citizens rushed to stockpile food as well as other items such as toilet paper.