Tue 17 March 2020:
Australia’s elderly were let in early to supermarkets on Tuesday but there were still scenes of coronavirus panic buying in some areas, with reports of empty shelves and large queues.
After rushes on groceries, the country’s biggest supermarket chain opened exclusively for elderly and disabled shoppers for an hour in an attempt to let them purchase essentials like toilet paper — which has repeatedly sold out and sparked several violent incidents.
But the move prompted long queues outside several stores in Sydney and Melbourne, with reports of shoppers leaving empty-handed.
“It’s day one of our dedicated shopping hour and we know it wasn’t perfect across all of our stores,” Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said in a statement.
Supermarkets would learn from today and continue the early hour shopping through the week, Peters said.
Despite security guards blocking younger shoppers from entering stores, unprecedented demand still led to many items disappearing.
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