Romanians start to empty supermarket shelves amid coronavirus fears

The Romanians started to empty the shelves of supermarkets across the country to stock up on essential supplies and food items, as they fear that the coronavirus will reach Romania soon.

The coronavirus outbreak in Italy increased the level of fear in Romania, as there are many Romanians living in the regions impacted by the novel coronavirus – COVID-19. Several suspected patients have been quarantined in Romania so far, but no cases have been confirmed, according to the authorities.

Most Romanians queued at supermarkets to buy bottled water, cooking oil, flour, meat and canned food. In the town of Borsa (in Maramures county), for example, the locals rushed to the supermarkets to buy supplies for them, but also for the relatives living in Italy, local Digi24 reported. Some shoppers shared images of empty shelves on Facebook.

The retailers registered sales similar to the ones reported around big holidays such as Christmas or Easter, according to local Libertatea.

In related news, the acting health minister Victor Costache met on Tuesday with representatives of the Association of Large Commercial Networks in Romania (AMRCR) to discuss public health measures to be taken during this period. For example, the retailers said they would recommend employees to avoid traveling to areas impacted by COVID-19. Plus, the big retailers will take the necessary steps to avoid larger than usual crowds in stores, reminding consumers that there is the possibility of online purchase of food and non-food products either directly from the retailers that offer this service or through specialized apps.

The Romanians also rushed to buy surgical masks in this period, and this led to situations in which the price of surgical masks has increased as much as 50 times, in the rare online stores where they are still available.

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