Singapore PM says virus response ‘major test’ as hoarding spikes

A man and a child wear protective masks, looking at empty shelves of canned food and instant noodles as people stock up on food supplies, after Singapore raised coronavirus outbreak alert level to orange, at a supermarket in Singapore on Feb 8, 2020. - Reuters

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singapore authorities urged residents to relax on their shopping sprees that have emptied supermarket shelves, saying supplies aren’t under threat even as response efforts to battle the coronavirus outbreak have escalated.

Pictures circulated online of snaking lines at supermarkets as people snapped up rice, instant noodles, toilet paper and sanitisation products. Online grocers including Amazon.com Inc. and Redmart Ltd said they have limited or no delivery slots.