Taiwan discourages people from panic buying as Covid restrictions come into force

Taiwan urged citizens to not hoard items and to avoid panic buying as new restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 come into force in the country. The island nation is currently witnessing a spike in Covid infections, prompting authorities to raise alert level in the capital city of Taipei and its surrounding areas on Saturday.

A two-week period of restrictions has been put into place, shutting many venues and limiting gatherings. Taiwan has witnessed relatively low infections with only 1,475 cases since the pandemic began. But recent cases have scared people in the country, which has remain largely untouched from the virus and the restrictions it brings including lockdowns.

On Saturday, the country’s president, premier and the economy ministry wrote on Facebook to discourage people from panic buying supplies, especially instant noodles and toilet paper.

"After more than a year of preparation, the country's anti-pandemic materials, civilian goods and raw materials are sufficient, and the stores are also operating as usual to replenish goods," President Tsai Ing-wen said.

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Carrefour, a French supermarket chain announced that it was limiting the purchase cap on items like masks and noodles in its Taiwan stores, urging people to buy only what they need.

The country’s economy ministry showed pictures of warehouses stocked with boxes of instant noodles, in a message to people that supplies were available in the country “like a mountain”. They added that there is enough stock of toilet paper and canned food as weed.

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On his Facebook page, Su Tseng-chang made a similar appeal. Earlier in the year, he urged people to calm down when toilet paper was flying off the shelves. He said people “only have one butth*le”. The government has not ordered a lockdown yet, but has urged people to stay indoors as much as possible.