Former Tottenham star Jermain Defoe has praised the heroic efforts of NHS staff as they continue to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
But the current Rangers man has also urged the public to consider medical staff’s needs when they go shopping.
According to recent reports, by the time medical staff are getting off shifts they are finding shops empty of products they need, with members of the public panicking buying due to the outbreak.
And although some supermarkets have introduced hours during which only NHS workers or elderly people may shop, Defoe is asking people to think twice when they are considering stocking up on goods they don’t really need.
“That is the saddest thing,” he told talkSPORT when asked about the empty shelves and long queues in supermarkets.
“You think about the hours they work; they must be exhausted and all they want to do after is try and fuel their bodies.
“Everyone knows if you don’t eat and hydrate your brain doesn’t work properly.
“So if they can’t finish work and go and have a decent meal it is quite sad to be honest.
“The people who really need food are the ones who are saving the UK and the world; they are ones who need to eat and people need to bear that in mind.
“When you are going to the supermarket or shops, don’t take more than you need!”
Before adding: “You don’t really expect to experience anything like this in your lifetime.
“Everyone has got to stick together and I want to give a big shout out, a thank you, to the NHS; to the doctors, the nurses, the ambulance drivers, the care workers… because this is an immense challenge.
“It’s something we’ve never faced before so I just want to pay respects to those people because they are the heroes in this.
“I can only imagine what it is like day in, day out having to deal with the people coming into hospitals every day.
“I’ve always respected the NHS; but my experiences when my dad wasn’t well a few years back, and obviously the stuff I went through with Bradley [Lowery], you see it first hand.
“I remember going in to see my dad at the hospital and I remember speaking to the doctors and nurses and seeing how they work day in, day out; I was looking at the nurses thinking, ‘wow, I saw you yesterday, you were here all day yesterday and now you’re back here first thing the next day’.
“I’ve always known the work they always put in, but with the situation like this it’s gone to another level.”
