Letters | Coronavirus in Hong Kong: think twice before joining that queue

I refer to the run on toilet rolls and tissue paper in Hong Kong supermarkets amid a community outbreak of coronavirus, even as the mask shortage and panic continue.

A few days ago, there were rumours that factories in China would soon stop manufacturing daily products, from tissue paper to condoms, because workers were staying home in a coronavirus lockdown. People then started flocking to neighbourhood stores and cleaned out the shelves.

Hong Kong rarely experiences shortages of essential items, but the supply situation with regard to face masks and tissue paper has put paid to the city’s reputation for abundance. The way people are purchasing toilet and tissue paper is close to mass hysteria.

Therefore, we need to think twice before joining the queues. The crucial thing is not to stockpile masks when you have enough to last a month. This would reduce demand and give businesspeople more time to order masks. Consequently, prices would become much more affordable for the elderly and others of limited means.

Also, we should never line up to buy anything without even knowing what we are queuing for, as has been reported around Hong Kong.

I have seen many middle-aged people joining a queue without even bothering to find out what is being sold. Maybe they are afraid of losing out on some product they might need to buy at a higher price later.

It is crucial for all of us to be more civic-minded and not add to the panic. Stop being selfish. We are all Hongkongers. We should make a concerted effort to survive the outbreak.