Trump urges Americans to stop hoarding food, supplies amid coronavirus panic
US President Donald Trump has urged Americans to stop hoarding food in panic over the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus is inspiring panic buying of a variety of household products in the United States with shelves of nonperishable foods, household cleaners and essentials cleared in stores.
“You don’t have to buy so much,” he said at the White House news conference. “There’s no need for anybody in the country to hoard essential food supplies.”
The president said grocery firms had asked him to advise consumers against panic-buying.
“They have asked me to say, ‘Could you buy a little bit less please.’” Trump said. “I thought I would never hear that from a retailer.”
He claimed there are “no shortages” at stores, yet people are “buying three-to-five times what they normally buy.”
The panic-buying comes after the government’s top infectious disease expert urged Americans to hunker down even more to help slow the spread of the virus.
“The worst is yet ahead for us,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“It is how we respond to that challenge that is going to determine what the ultimate endpoint is going to be.”
There are now 3,300 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the US and at least 65 people have died so far, according to data compiled by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Johns Hopkins University.
American schools have been closed and millions of jobs are in jeopardy as businesses temporarily closed down.
On Sunday, the CDC said events with gatherings of 50 or more people over the next eight weeks should be postponed or canceled.
Trump declared a national emergency over the virus on Friday, freeing up additional resources and federal funding of about $50 billion to fight the disease.
The US president has also imposed restrictions on travelers from China, Iran, the Schengen Area the European countries as well as the UK and Ireland.
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