Laurence Dollimore
Nos merecemos todo lo que nos pasa #COVID19espana pic.twitter.com/1Z6zwzGWIF
— Paco Bocero (@FranciscoBocero) March 10, 2020
RESIDENTS in Spain have reported cases of panic buying in supermarkets as regions begin closing down schools and sports centres in a bid to tackle the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The above video shows people donning plastic bags over their heads while stockpiling in a Mercadona in Madrid.
It comes as the region has announced tonight that it will also close libraries, sports and cultural centres in a bid to reduce the risk of contagion.
It was only yesterday it announced it would be closing all education centres for a period of two weeks, along with areas in the Basque Country.
https://twitter.com/RABAGOISABEL/status/1237395858951303168
These images taken from a Carrefour show the meat shelves completely empty.
It comes as supermarkets in the Madrid region told El Mundo that they have experienced a 300% rise in sales overnight.
“It’s crazy, we’re taking everything we have in the warehouse, but we don’t know what will last,” one cashier worker in the Hortaleza area told the Spanish national newspaper.
At a Dia in Extremedura, workers there said they were outselling their Christmas targets.
“Fortunately, we are getting supply, but people have panicked, we are selling triple, more than Christmas,” one worker told El Mundo, adding that people are stockpiling mostly milk, yoghurts, rice, bread and meat.
Acojonante,Creo que con el tema del coronavirus la gente se va a meter en casa y no va a parar de cagar en los 15 dias de cuarentena.Supermercado sin un solo rollo de papel wc,entre otras cosas?????. De verdad? Estamos locos?…… pic.twitter.com/93OBWAdS5H
— Brusette (@Brusette2) March 10, 2020
Other pictures shared online appear to show toilet paper and wet wipes almost completely sold out.
One user said it was as if people ‘are not going to stop s****ing for 15 days’.
Voy supermercado #Mercadona #montornesdelvalles y vaya sorpresa… Todos aseguraron su despensa… El poder de los medios #coronavirusEspana #Coronavid19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/1DkAcg53jJ
— Stephanie (@turrondesugar) March 10, 2020
Food industry sources said tonight that the restocking is performed daily and that if Madrid has announced the closure of schools, ‘it is normal for many families to buy more normal than usual because they know that children will eat at home for the next few weeks.’
Distribution networks called for calm and insisted that Spain has among the highest supermarkets per capita in Europe.
Have you noticed less food in the supermarkets where you live? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es
