Coronavirus sparks panic buying in UK with families stockpiling food, medicine and TOILETS ready for weeks in isolation
BRITONS are reportedly beginning to panic buy household items, even setting up "isolation" rooms at home in case coronavirus closes down their communities.
Among the essentials worried families have been said to be stockpiling are nappies, toilet roll, soup, tinned fruit, pet food, medicine, bottled water — and booze.
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A shortage of germ-killing antibacterial gel has seen sales of surgical spirit boom on eBay and Amazon and Boots by people desperate to sanatize their hands, reports .
Food and other essentials are also being snapped up here and in stores across the world as more than 82,000 people become infected as the world is teetering on the brink of a lethal pandemic.
Brits are facing months of coronavirus chaos with sporting events, gigs, schools on lockdown and families told to isolate themselves to stop the spread of the killer bug.
Two new cases today bring the total number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in the UK to 15.
It comes as England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned that onward transmission between people in the UK was "just a matter of time in my view".
He said: "If this becomes a global epidemic then the UK will get it.
"If it is not containable, it will be non-containable everywhere and then it is coming our way."
One of the things that's really clear with this virus, much more so than flu, is that anything we do we're going to have to do for quite a long period of time
Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer
Meanwhile with more than 400 cases reported in Italy fears are growing that the highly infectious disease is establishing a foothold in Europe and that soon millions could be infected.
In light of the growing threat, concerned social media users have been sharing stockpiling shopping lists and home quarantine tips.
One Mumsnet member said: “Camping commode loo in another room?
“I've also cleaned and prepped the farm caravan so if needed it could be an isolation suite.
“Useful place to store surplus supplies, tinned food etc as well.”
Another said: “Putting a couple of sheets of toilet roll in the bottom of a commode or bedpan makes them easier to clean.
“There's an advantage for the patient in not having to use precious energy getting to the bathroom.”
Meanwhile, 168 Britons remain confined to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife after at least four guests were diagnosed with coronavirus.
Some of the guests were told this evening they could leave, but many others remain.
They have been expressing frustration at quarantine measures at the hotel, with people walking around the hotel without face masks and sharing meals at the buffet.
The Foreign Office has no current plans to repatriate Britons from the hotel but said it was keeping the situation under review.
DEADLY SPREAD: Coronavirus cases in the UK
ANOTHER two cases of coronavirus have today been confirmed in the UK - barely a month since the deadly bug first reached our shores.
The first cases were diagnosed on January 31 when a student and relative were tested positive in York.
The victims were quarantined in Newcastle as UK authorities vowed they would control the virus' spread.
However, by February 6 another patient was diagnosed with coronavirus.
The Brit - businessman Steve Walsh - contracted the bug in Singapore before travelling to the French Alps for a holiday before returning to his home in Hove, East Sussex.
He became known as a superspreader by unwittingly infecting a number of other Brits in France with him.
Mr Walsh, who since recovered, then infected another five people who were treated in the UK.
By February, another patient was taken to Guy's and St Thomas' after contracting coronavirus in China - bringing the total to nine.
Another four cases were recorded just a week later after being flown back to the UK from the plague cruise ship, the Diamond Princess.
The group had been quarantined in Arrowe Park but were quickly moved to a treatment centre.
And now today, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty confirmed another two patients had tested positive.
The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres in Royal Liverpool Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, London.
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So far in the UK, 7,690 people have been tested for the virus and of the 15 to have tested positive, eight have so far been discharged from hospital.
Globally, Denmark was among those countries confirming their first cases today while Saudi Arabia has stopped Muslim pilgrims entering to worship at the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
In Japan, all schools will close for several weeks, while US experts have reported the first case of unknown origin, which suggests the virus is spreading there.
In China, where the virus originated, 78,497 cases have been reported, including 2,744 deaths.
After Brazil confirmed Latin America's first case yesterday, the virus has reached every continent except Antarctica.
