Hongkongers are being informed by the head of the consumer council there not to hoard toilet paper as they will turn mouldy over time.
This startling piece of news might come as a surprise to many, and perhaps was meant to be so, as it was dropped on Hongkongers in a bid to deter them from their panic-buying activities.
This occurred after online rumours circulated that mainland China had stopped its production of goods because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), adding to fears that toilet rolls and rice, alongside other household essentials in Hong Kong might run out.
Hoarding toilet paper rolls may expose them to risk of mould growth
On Feb. 16, Gilly Wong Fung-han, the chief executive of the Consumer Council, mentioned on a radio programme that "mainland factories had resumed full operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, and there would be sufficient stock in the city".
She also added that toilet paper suppliers "would be able to replenish stocks to provide people with diversified choices soon".
Consumers have been urged not to stockpile toilet paper, among other daily items.
Additionally, Wong claimed that hoarding toilet paper rolls may expose them to the risk of mould growth.
This is because "the moisture on tissue surfaces could cause mould to grow easily if stored for a prolonged period," especially in a humid climate, South China Morning Post reported.
Days earlier, supermarkets were unable to restock in time to meet consumer demands, "leading to sometimes lengthy queues and shelves stripped bare within moments of opening," RTHK reported.
According to SCMP, some retailers had even stopped their previous sales promotions and increased prices of such household items in light of this phenomenon.
Hong Kong has enough rice reserves to last population for a month
On the same day, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, also put up a blog post to reassure the public that the city "had around 25 million kilograms of rice reserves, sufficient to last the population for a month".
He added that the government would "continue to closely monitor food supplies in the market" and there was no need to hoard household items or other daily necessities.
Frontline medical workers in need of surgical masks and N95 respirators
Meanwhile, Henry Fan Hung-ling, the Hospital Authority chairman, stated in a blog post that he and his team were in urgent need of "protective gear such as surgical masks and N95 respirators for front line medical workers."
Although he mentioned that purchasing these protective gear achieved "initial results", he did not elaborate any further.
Earlier on, the authority had said that they had enough surgical masks of about 18 million, protective suits that number 2.2 million, and N95 respirators, about 1.1 million, for "one month's usage across all departments".
Fan had also urged the public to come together to fight against the virus by standing up against the vandalism of public hospitals and clinics.
In the past weeks, some radical protesters had damaged certain designated quarantine facilities.
Lack of trust in Chinese government and authorities
Ever since the outbreak was first reported, Hongkongers have increasingly feared that the Chinese government has not been transparent about the true extent of the coronavirus spread or death toll, Metro News reports.
There is also an imminent lack of trust in the Chinese government and authorities, despite Hong Kong's close economic and cultural ties to mainland China.
In 2003, Beijing initially covered up the outbreak of the SARS virus, which eventually killed 299 people in Hong Kong.
According to The Jakarta Post, this had "left lasting psychological scars on the densely populated city".
As of Feb. 17, the death toll in China has increased to over 1,700, with more than 70,000 confirmed cases in the country alone.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, has 57 confirmed cases, including one patient who died.
Related Articles
Top image by Michael Jasmund on Unsplash