UK supermarkets call for calm as virus fears trigger panic buying

LONDON: British supermarkets have called on consumers to be more considerate and reiterated they have adequate supplies, as the coronavirus saw shelves plundered and a surge in online orders.

The country´s leading groceries retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury´s and Waitrose, penned a joint letter to customers, which ran in newspapers Sunday and Monday appealing for calm.

"We need your help," they wrote. "We would ask everyone to be considerate in the way they shop. There is enough for everyone if we all work together." British stores have been inundated with shoppers for more than a week, with people panic buying toilet paper, and long-life items such as pasta and canned goods.

Online shopping, a popular choice in Britain, has been disrupted, with long waiting times for scheduled deliveries and some supermarkets´ websites crashing due to demand. Morrisons said on Monday it would introduce "temporary purchase limits" on certain high-demand products.—