Alcohol replaces toilet paper as the number one must-have for panic-buyers - Culture

Alcohol aisles are now being stripped bare by panic buyers after Boris Johnson closed pubs and restaurants in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Boozy tipples have replaced toilet paper as the number one must-have product for customers who are continuing to go on frenzied shopping sprees despite warnings from the government to stop panic buying amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The alcohol aisles in a Tesco in Hartlepool were noticeably stark this morning after the Prime Minister ordered the closure of all pubs, restaurants and cafes yesterday.

And shoppers across the country have noticed a similar shortage in alcohol as selfish panic buyers continue to stockpile goods and ransack supermarket shelves.

Alcohol aisles are now being stripped bare by panic buyers after Boris Johnson closed pubs and restaurants in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Pictured is an empty alcohol aisle at a Tesco in Hartlepool

The alcohol aisles in a Tesco in Hartlepool were noticeably stark this morning after the Prime Minister ordered the closure of all pubs, restaurants and cafes yesterday

One customer posted two pictures of completely bare alcohol aisles in a Sainsbury’s in Kingston.

Jose Cabal uploaded the pictures with the caption: ‘People panic buying is stupid and selfish.

‘Taking it to the next level: Kingston’s Sainsbury’s.’

Another user wrote: ‘Sainsbury’s alcohol aisles were pretty empty tonight.

While another said: ‘Watch this, with the pubs closed, bet the shops’ alcohol aisles will be bare as well.’

The alcohol aisles in Tesco, Hartlepool, are standing empty this morning as panic buyers got the store this morning

Neil Humphreys said: ‘And we thought the toilet-roll panic buying was bad. Wait till you see the alcohol aisles tomorrow!”

Another social media user wrote: ‘No drinking or eating establishments open. Cue lift-off on takeaways and empty shelves in supermarkets in the alcohol aisles.’

Britons woke up to a shut-down nation today after Boris Johnson ordered all pubs, restaurants, clubs, gyms and cinemas to close in a drastic ramping up of measures to stem the spread of the deadly infection, which has killed 177 and infected almost 4,000.

As people prepare to retreat indoors, people also appear to be stocking up on booze, with wine, beer and spirits flying off the shelves in supermarkets today.

The mad shopping spree has seen heartbreaking scenes of elderly people and exhausted frontline NHS staff standing helplessly beside empty shelves, prompting chains including Sainsbury’s and M&S to set aside a golden hour where they can buy essentials before the masses stampede the store.

One customer posted two pictures of completely bare alcohol aisles in a Sainsbury’s in Kingston

A Marks & Spencer shop in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, was among the first shops to call in police to help ensure older shoppers could use the hour set aside for them.

Asda and Aldi have hired a sports security firm, Showsec, to protect against selfish panic buyers.

And some other 118 major stores across the UK have also requested to protection from customers who openly flout governmental advice to stop panic buying.

The staff, who are usually escorting boxers to the ring, have been employed to work from 5am to midday.

Another social media user wrote: ‘No drinking or eating establishments open. Cue lift-off on takeaways and empty shelves in supermarkets in the alcohol aisles

People queuing up outside Tescos in Aldershot, a day after the Chancellor unveiled an emergency package aimed at protecting workers’ jobs and wages as they face hardship in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic

Shoppers were faced with empty shelves in Tesco, Cambridge, on Friday morning when supplies were cleared before they had a chance to buy during their ‘Pensioners’ Hour’

One Shosec worker told The Sun: ‘They cannot handle the trouble. They’re calling us in to try and get some order back but it’s going to be a mammoth task.’

Supermarkets are desperately trying to keep up with the demand in order to prevent the elderly and NHS staff and emergency workers from having to go without as a result of other selfish shoppers.

Eager shoppers queue outside a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Kenton, London before it opens at 7am on March 20

Tesco is even hiring 20,000 shelf stackers on 12-week contracts, while Aldi is aiming for 9,000 and Asda for 5,000.

Most supermarkets have started limiting purchases and are trying to get shoppers down to just two or three items of food, toiletries and cleaning products.

Waitrose has started a £1million community support fund to make sure essential items are delivered to care homes.

The coronavirus has so far killed 177 people in the UK and infected 3,983

Chancellor Rishi Sunak ‘saves 800,000 jobs with employer bailout’

Rishi Sunak’s has promised to underwrite employees’ wages and is expected to save 800,000 jobs during the coronavirus epidemic.

The Chancellor told a Downing Street press briefing a new grant would cover 80 per cent of workers’ salaries – up to a maximum of £2,500 a month each – if firms kept them on.

Analysts who were forecasting 1.5million increase in job losses because of the health crisis cut their prediction to 700,000 unemployed just minutes after the announcement.

But his lifeline to employees – wrapped into the government’s third emergency economic package in just over a week – is set to plunge the UK into further billions of pounds of debt.

Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said that if the wage support was claimed for 10 per cent of employees it could cost the government £10billion over three months.

He said: ‘The cost of the wage subsidy package is unknowable at present but will run into several billion pounds per month that it is in operation.’

‘It is clearly a policy designed in haste and will require considerable speed and flexibility from HMRC to deliver. As a result there are obvious concerns about its design.’

The breakneck speed at which the measures were compiled meant the Treasury has not yet released an exact costings calculations, leading to differing estimates from forecasters.

The Financial Times calculated that the scheme would cost £3.5billion every three months for every one million workers affected.

Flanking Boris Johnson in Number 10, Mr Sunak hammered home the seriousness of the economic fallout and unveiled the ‘unprecedented measures for unprecedented times’.

He said: ‘The truth is we are already seeing job losses and there may be more to come. I cannot promise you that no one will face hardship in the weeks ahead.’

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, told The Times: ‘This is quite frankly a spectacular package that involves the government directly paying the wages of millions of employees.

‘It won’t stop the unemployment rate from rising from just under four per cent now.

‘But without this package we thought that it would shoot up to the financial crisis level of eight percent.’

Mr Sunak also allowed businesses to hold on to £30billion of VAT, which they would normally pass on to tax authorities.

He said: ‘Combined with our previous announcements on public services and business support, our planned economic response will be one of the most comprehensive in the world.’