February 29, 2020, 04:08 PM
New Zealand announced its first case of Covid-19 on Feb. 27.
Reuters reported that the patient, who is in their 60s, had just returned from Tehran, Iran, and had travelled on an Emirates Airline flight which stopped in Bali.
The patient arrived in Auckland on Feb. 26, and is currently being treated at Auckland City Hospital.
New Zealand's health ministry stated that their condition is improving, and that chances of a community outbreak "remain low".
Public health officials have started tracing the patient's contacts, and are testing the patient's family members for the virus.
Long queues form at supermarkets
And it seems that New Zealand is also no exception to the consequences of the paranoia that has gripped other countries like Singapore, Japan and South Korea.
The announcement sparked a bout of panic buying in the country.
Photos and videos of crowds and long queues at supermarkets were circulated on social media.
A supermarket outlet, PAK'nSAVE at Royal Oak in Auckland, saw droves of people, some in masks, rushing to stock up on necessities.
What a way to start the day. PAK’nSAVE Royal Oak was at capacity at 8am on a Saturday morning due to panic stemming from the arrival of the coronavirus in (Auckland) New Zealand. I have never seen it this packed before. Christmas Eve grocery shopping is nothing compared to this. pic.twitter.com/RynstKJ6CD
— Paula (@paula_j_k) February 28, 2020
Photo from @Paula_Korunic / Twitter
Photo from @Paula_Korunic / Twitter
The queues were so extensive, they snaked around and to the back of the supermarket.
The coronavirus panic buy is real, the queues at this Pak n Save are snaking around most of the store pic.twitter.com/JfGWt86tO9
— @aufhebunghole.bsky.social (@aufhebunghole) February 28, 2020
Photo from @chumbawumpscut / Twitter
And all the way outside.
Here's a video.
The queue outside Royal Oak Pak n Save: pic.twitter.com/sEEFnFMTUs
— Chris Chang (@ChrisChang) February 28, 2020
A photo of a sign placed at a PAK'nSAVE supermarket even stated that there would be a 30 minute wait to checkout.
https://twitter.com/KiwiPrepper/status/1233555466925461505
Toilet paper and water gone
What's interesting though, are the how the items shoppers panic bought differ across countries.
Singapore saw its shoppers hoarding toilet paper, instant noodles and rice.
Japan stocked up on masks and toilet paper.
Koreans bought household essentials and other necessities.
Meanwhile, here's a prediction of what New Zealand shoppers would purchase.
There are reports of panic buying in Auckland.
— Tracy C (@TracyCollins13) February 28, 2020
We know that the Japanese panic buy toilet paper and masks.
What would kiwis buy? Here's my guess:
Tinned spaghetti, baked beans, Marmite (NZ vers), bread, beer, and TP (toilet paper).
It seems water is precious commodity—shelves of bottled water were cleared.
https://twitter.com/KiwiPrepper/status/1233588358049189889
And so was toilet paper and flu medicine.
https://twitter.com/KiwiPrepper/status/1233599708163006465
According to NZHerald, masks and hand sanitisers were sold out. One person they spoke to also had a trolley full of baked beans.
The chief executive of Foodstuffs, which owns PAK'nSAVE, New World and Foodstuffs, posted a tweet urging people to "shop normally", and assured that his staff had been working hard.
Well that changed fast in our supermarkets team been calls through the night and doing an amazing job of supporting customers and stores, people should try and just shop normally and we will make it work.
— Chris Quin (@chrisjquin) February 28, 2020
Top photo from @chumbawumpscut / Twitter and @KiwiPrepper / Twitter
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