The new coronavirus may be spreading around the world but theresa国际传媒檚 no need for British Columbians to clear out grocery stores, a clinical psychologist from the University of B.C. said.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a little bit like a stampede at a sporting event,sa国际传媒� Steven Taylor said.
sa国际传媒淥nce one person starts stampeding for the exit, everyone does.sa国际传媒�
In this case, the stampede has been to the grocery store and images all over social media show busy shops, empty shelves and full shopping carts.
Taylor said thatsa国际传媒檚 likely because of well-meaning advice from Canadian health officials to stock up on a two-week supply of food, household essentials and medication.
sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 good advice but many people donsa国际传媒檛 have those kinds of supplies,sa国际传媒� Taylor told Black Press Media by phone.
That has led to a rush that has cleared out groceries stores, particularly warehouses like Costco.
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Taylor said that in B.C., which has seen nine cases of COVID-19 so far, buying a whole shelf of toilet paper is probably not necessary when buying a backup of your essentials is probably enough.
sa国际传媒淔ear is contagious. Imagine yousa国际传媒檙e on the Titanic and you see everyone rushing for the [life] boats. Yousa国际传媒檙e not going to stop and twiddle your thumbs sa国际传媒� yousa国际传媒檙e going to follow the crowd,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淯rgency, scarcity and anxiety are the big three players in the initial panicked buying, and from there I think it snowballed.sa国际传媒�
Images of empty shelves and crowded stores have scared people who may not have initially been concerned, Taylor said, but itsa国际传媒檚 important to remember that images that go viral are not an accurate view of the situation.
sa国际传媒淚f an image is dramatic, itsa国际传媒檚 not going to be representative of the way things are,sa国际传媒� Taylor said. sa国际传媒淧eople need to remind themselvessa国际传媒� that an image of a fully stocked supermarket shelf and calm shoppers, thatsa国际传媒檚 not going to go viral.sa国际传媒�
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