Panic buying decreases in PoS

Panic buying seems to have decreased, at least in a few grocery stores in Port of Spain, on the eve of the government implementing restrictions of movement for two weeks.

On Sunday Newsday visited PriceSmart MovieTowne, Tru Valu Long Circular and Massy Stores on French Street and West Mall, where all outlets appeared to have a steady but reasonable number of people buying groceries.

Tru Valu was now allowing a maximum of 30 people inside. People have to line up to wash their hands before shopping..

Dwayne Alexander, a senior packer at John's Supermarket on Bournes Road, went to the grocery for his essential self-isolation food.

"I just came for my yoghurt, so I decided to come out of my house. Yesterday people were shopping like crazy, though," he said.

As a packer at a grocery, Alexander is among the many essential workers who will continue going to work to ensure that grocery stores are stocked.

He is concerned about getting transport to and from work. He has been having difficulty getting taxis, and believes it will be worse from Monday. All public transport has been restricted to only carrying 50 per cent of the vehicle's capacity.

Hyacinth Daniel was at Tru Valu doing her regular month-end shopping. She was adamant that she was not panic-buying.

"This has nothing to do with covid. This is my normal family groceries. This has nothing to do with buying in bulk."

She praised Tru Valu for how it was approaching sanitising and social distancing.

"They are handling it really well. People are spaced out in the line," she said.

At Massy Stores people were lined up, single file and relatively well spaced outside the store to wash their hands. There were few people inside both the French Street and West Mall stores.

At all three supermarkets, the line moved quickly and had fewer than a dozen people.

At PriceSmart, however, there was over a score of people lining up to enter the store. They were a shopping basket apart.

Newsday saw two men leaving the store with gloves on, pushing their carts and eating ice cream.