A heartbreaking photo of an elderly woman staring at empty shelves before crying went viral on Twitter as people continue to hoard essentials during the coronavirus pandemic.
The photo was taken in the canned food aisle of a supermarket in Port Melbourne.
9News journalist Seb Costello shared the photo on Twitter and said the elderly woman was in tears. He wrote: “This captures who is suffering from the me-first, unnecessary, trend of panic buying.”
Customers at Coles supermarket have purchased up to three Christmases worth of supplies.
Chief operations officer Matthew Swindells said to the Seven Network: “It’s not a problem of supply, it’s a problem of demand.
“We have done three Christmases in three consecutive weeks from a standing start.”
He added: “When you see that immediate lift in demand across a network as large as Coles, it punches a huge stock hole in our supply lines and it takes time to recover.”
Internet users criticized shoppers who purchase in bulk after seeing the heartbreaking image.
One Twitter user wrote: “I am so disappointed with our country at the moment, especially our blatant disregard for our senior citizens.”
Another wrote: “This really breaks my heart, the elderly have already given to society, why aren’t we looking after them?? We will be them sooner than we realise. Bring in rationing….please let’s look after the vulnerable.”
A third said: “In the past week, I have actually been embarrassed to be Australian. People’s behaviour has been not only embarrassing but disgusting.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison begged residents to ‘stop hoarding’ as stores will remain open. He said in a press conference: “I can’t be more blunt about it. Stop it. It’s ridiculous. It’s un-Australian, and it must stop. It is not sensible and it is not helpful.”
He added: “There is no reason for people to be hoarding supplies in fear of a lockdown or anything like this. It is not something that people should be doing.”
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