Covid-19: Panic-buying in Beijing after 21 cases detected on April 24

Customers wearing face masks shop next to near-empty shelves at a supermarket following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Chaoyang district of Beijing on Sunday (April 24). - Photo: REUTERS

BEIJING: City folks here have rushed into panic-buying mode after the number of people who tested positive for Covid-19 shot up into double-digits on Sunday (April 24).

Food and essential items at groceries, wet markets and convenience stores across the city centre were almost snapped up.