Coronavirus panic leads to panic and certain people are cashing in

Yes - coronavirus is really worrying. It’s not weak or stupid to admit concern. In its worst-case scenario, this pandemic could cause many, many deaths and has the potential to cripple our economy.

But whilst we all need to check our behaviours to slow the spread, there are still only two confirmed cases in Oxfordshire - let’s try a little perspective.

We certainly aren’t at the worst of it yet. Shops are still open, businesses are still operating (for the most part) as usual.

There is still time to grab your essentials – no one needs to be dashing madly around the local Tesco swiping anything and everything they can get off the shelves.

It’s normal to be scared and it’s normal to want to protect yourself and your family.

But the levels of panic-buying readers have documented at shops across the country is nothing short of crazy.

The trouble is that panic-buying leads to panic-buying.

Some of us might scoff at those shoving every last loo roll into their basket... but then we start thinking ‘what if there’s none left for when I need it?...Maybe I should stock up too.’

These are all human reactions and part of survival instinct.

What’s utterly deplorable is cashing in on people’s fears and needs.

As we’ve reported, sellers across Oxfordshire have snapped up every last anti-bacterial wipe or gel they can find and are offering them on sites like eBay for extortionate prices.

This also means we get a skewed picture of how many people are actually panic-buying. You might go into a shop and see there’s no hand gel and think it’s everyone - when in reality it’s because one shrewd seller has snapped up every last bottle.

And all this means people in real need of sanitisers and pain killers can’t find any.

Perhaps shops should limit the number of certain items people are allowed to buy?

Or perhaps we should all take stock, think of the collective ‘us’ not ‘me’ and, for now, only buy what we actually need?