The mayor of Houston has taken aim at residents who are stockpiling amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke out on twitter against the panic buying hysteria that has broken out across certain regions of the US.
“The world is not coming to an end. But if it is all that bottle water and toilet paper you are buying will not get used,” he wrote.
In the days since the number of cases in the US have continued to rise, supermarket shelves have become increasingly empty as people prepare for the worst eventualities.
Mayor Turner's tweet comes just after a surge of panic buying in New York came after Mayor Bill De Blasio announced a state of emergency in the City.
Social media users are sharing images of aisles of empty supermarket shelves in New York, and huge queues of shoppers waiting to pay for their goods, according to The Daily Mail.
Mayor De Blasio attempted to calm the panic, urging residents to stop panic-buying in the wake of the announcement.
“A lot of understandably anxious people stocked up their fridges and cabinets today. Rest assured, there’s no need for that,“ he said.
“Our supply chain is active and deliveries are rolling in as normal. Shelves will restock.”
He called on residents to “Remember: facts, not fear.”
He also vehemently denied rumours about the city being quarantined in an attempt to quell the panic stating: “NO, there is NO TRUTH to rumours about Manhattan being quarantined. Whoever is spreading this misinformation, PLEASE STOP NOW!”
However, the fear seems to have gripped the US nationwide as #panicbuying and #coronapocalypse continued to trend on Twitter, according to Fox News.
There have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US and the country has escalated its response to the virus with President Donald Trump announcing travel bans from 26 European countries into the country.
