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Just look at the hoarding going on now. Imagine what that world be like if there was imminent and gruesome death being talked about?
And who would be effected worst? Yeah, you'd be ok probably but what if you're old, disabled or something else. You're fucked.
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This appears to be a cultural issue as supposedly Italy's supermarkets aren't experiencing the problem to the same extent as us
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The panic buying and hoarding is a consequence of the vacuum of effective communication. The government should have explained on very clear terms and consistently repeated the communication that there was no risk of food shortage and no risk of disruption to supply chains. They didn't say that clearly until yesterday.
They need to over communicate, and educate people about what this is really about, i.e. probable massive shortage of NHS capacity to deal with crisis and the consequences of that.
Instead they let people engage in a bout of panic buying that has probably accelerated spread of the virus.
greentricky
Why? It is difficult to understand an abstract chart with no values on the x and y indices, and talk of flattening the curve. The government should level with people. Sheltering people from the reality is not a good strategy. They need clear and understandable explanation of the consequences if government advice is not followed. That is not fear mongering.