Spike In COVID-19 Cases Sparks A New Round Of Panic Buying
On Tuesday, Arizona reported 3,434 new COVID-19 cases — the most since late July — as the state battles to keep the virus spread from returning to levels it saw in the summer. And, like the late summer, this increase is also causing a new round of panic buying, leaving many grocery stores with empty shelves.
“I like to keep on top of the hot news of the day, so I’ve been doing inventory checks on toilet paper levels at U.S. grocery stores,” said Vijay Vaitheeswaran, U.S. business editor of the Economist.
In this second, third wave of COVID-19, there’s a concern for more than just toilet paper, he said. Snowbirds flocking to a Phoenix climate during an outbreak is an example of a cause for concern.
“Unless you also shut down access and mobility, which nobody has done in America, because we are a free federal state — they may be bringing COVID with them,” he said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, grocery stores have been stocking up on staples to avoid shortages in expectation of second and third wave coronavirus buying that may run up against the normal holiday rush.
Vaitheeswaran cited an example from California, where San Francisco had one of the early virus outbreaks. Several rural areas in the state did not experience outbreaks, and did not have strict rules as a result.
Restaurants, for example, stayed open in these rural areas, and some San Francisco city dwellers fled on the weekends — without wearing masks — and the virus spread — to each other and to local people in those rural areas. The virus then spread again when these travelers brought it back to the city.
"And so, I think one has to be careful about following one's individual personality and idealism. However we might want to live, we are connected, and unfortunately, in this case, we are connected by human vulnerability to a novel zoonoses — the COVID-19 virus."
