Food suppliers urge Hong Kong residents to “stop panic-buying” ahead of lockdown

As fears grow of an imminent lockdown due to the rampaging Omicron variant, suppliers say the city’s supplies are stable and there is no need to stockpile necessities.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has pleaded with residents not to panic over the supply of food and necessities such as medicine and baby items, assuring them that the flow of goods into the city has largely returned to normal thanks to help from Beijing.

Her call was echoed by food suppliers, who said the city was well-stocked in spite of shipping hiccups.

Long queues have been forming at supermarkets across the city, while others join queues to shop for essentials including rice and noodles in bulk online. Anxious shoppers wiped the shelves clean of meat, vegetables and medication. Many of the city’s pharmacies are said to have sold out of basics such as paracetamol. It comes after a health expert advised the public to stay home and recover by “drinking more water and taking Panadol” earlier this month.

The concerns come after Shenzhen locked down border areas near Hong Kong this week to stop the spread of Omicron.

Hong Kong’s death rate has now surpassed that of the US on its worst day for Covid-related fatalities. A record 172 Covid-related deaths were recorded in Hong Kong in a single day on 1 March 2022.

The Hong Kong government has revealed plans to impose a compulsory testing scheme across the city this month and will build eight more community-isolation facilities for its residents to quarantine.

Meanwhile, HSBC has announced it will only allow vaccinated staff and visitors into its premises from 28 March, becoming the first of Hong Kong’s banks to enforce the restriction.