People stockpile amid coronavirus fears

A young father with a newborn baby piled boxes of nappies into his trolley in fear that the country will shut down in the next few days.

The man, who did not want to be named, had covered his face with a bandanna and was visibly scared of the Covid-19 virus threat.

"The next thing is that we're going to be told that we can't go anywhere. I have to make sure that my child will have all the necessities so I'm buying everything now," he said.

He told Sowetan he was covering his face to avoid catching the virus and taking it home to his baby.

"Even being here is a risk but I'd rather do it now before it spreads further," he said. "I'm worried about a lot. I think a lot of things could go wrong very soon."

The young father was one of hundreds of consumers who were at the local Makro in Roodepoort stockpiling food and supplies.

While some consumers bought non-perishable foods such as baked beans and tinned fish, many were bulk-buying toilet paper. Queues took up much of the store.

Miriam Nyerende had hundreds of packets of noodles in her trolley. "I'm buying non-perishables in case shops have to be closed," she said.

Massmart spokesperson Refilwe Boikanyo said: "We have noted significantly increased online and store-based sales of hygiene cleaners and products associated with the Covid-19 virus. We are coping with current demand."

Arthur Goldstuck, a writer and speaker on tech trends, told Sowetan there would most likely be a slow increase in online shopping in SA compared to the rest of the world "as groceries do not tend to be a major category of e-commerce. However, if the crisis worsens, and stores begin closing due to staff being compromised or to avoid being compromised, we can expect an e-commerce revolution to begin in South Africa."

Trade and industry minister Ibrahim Patel said: "What we've secured with retailers and manufacturers is that they are actively managing their supply chain to make sure that there are goods available in shops when people need them. We want to discourage people rushing to the shops because that creates a shortage.

"Factories are working. South Africa is fortunate that we have fairly strong domestic manufacturing facilities. So, we make many of the basic things people need... and we want to make sure that in the supply chains there are no disruptions." -Additional reporting by Kgothatso Madisa