Coronavirus: Police called to protect supermarkets and chemists in Ireland after panicked shoppers fight over trolleys
POLICE are being deployed to protect chemists and supermarkets after Ireland's coronavirus lockdown sent shoppers into mass panic.
Shop shelves across the country were raided as thousands of people flocked to supermarkets to stockpile supplies out of fears the country would be completely shut down.
And they were told all non-essential meetings and non-essential public gatherings are to be banned while patrol cars and vehicles are to be cleaned with antibacterial materials before they were passed onto the next shift.
In the aftermath of the latest slew of measures, several ministers moved to calm virus fears and warned people that there was no need to stockpile goods as supply chains have been boosted in preparation for the lockdown.
Mr Varadkar has in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to media in Washington DC he said: “There is no need for any panic buying or panic shopping.
"We have close co-operation with the retailers and retail organisations and they assure us that supply chains are strong and any shelves that are empty this evening will be filled again tomorrow so people don’t need to engage in any panic buying.
"It’s not necessary and that may create a problem in fact that doesn’t exist.
“This is a rapidly developing situation, it is a dynamic situation and we will make sure that the public are updated every day through our press conferences.”
