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AWhen the chancellor warned in late September that the daily number of corona infections at Christmas could be more than 19,000, she was ridiculed by many. Today, around 60 days before Christmas Eve, the Robert Koch Institute reports 11,287 new confirmed infections in one day.
A few days ago the Chancellor said: “I ask you: refrain from any trip that is not really necessary, any celebration that is not really necessary. Please stay home whenever possible. ” In essence, this should mean: Show solidarity and don’t put your individual needs above the welfare of the entire nation.
This appeal can be transferred to all areas of life, for example, in the supermarket. For a few days, a phenomenon that everyone knows from spring has been observed: partially empty toilet paper shelves, baked goods that are out of stock, warning notes that say: “Please, only one package per household”, for example.
These do not appear to be individual observations: As the Federal Statistical Office reported on Thursday, toilet paper sales in the week of October 12-17, 2020 were nearly double the average for the months prior to the August crisis. 2019 to January 2020.
Inconsiderate
Even if the trade has calmed down and a second wave of hamsters has not been seen so far, it is likely that some of the rodents have returned. And they act just as ruthlessly as they did at the start of the pandemic.
Because there is actually enough for everyone. Empty shelves are not due to interrupted supply chains or miscalculations in the trade. They know exactly how many rolls of toilet paper and how many packages of pasta are usually bought.
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Products are partially out of stock because hamsters are something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Out of fear of shortages, people load more into their shopping carts than is actually necessary, and only through this behavior do they ensure that the dreaded shortage occurs.
How can that be prevented? Today, the retail sector has established a simple basic rule: if everyone only buys what they need, there will be enough for everyone. But some people put their interests (enough toilet paper for Judgment Day) above the legitimate desire of others to be able to wipe their butt, too.
This is particularly unpleasant for all those who belong to the risk group. Older people cannot go shopping by car, but on foot, and cannot carry four packages of toilet paper at a time. Sometimes you want to expose yourself to the risk of infection as little as possible. And don’t go to the supermarket every day to check if the shelves are full.
For these people and everyone else, we should all retreat a bit. And trust that in a country like Germany neither toilet paper nor pasta will run out, if we don’t take care of it ourselves with our behavior.
Yes, this pandemic is a state of emergency that many people have never experienced before. This includes uncertainty about the future, as well as the (supposed) loss of control over certain areas of life – for example, the certainty that you can build a throne out of toilet paper rolls if you wish.
This is not really a pleasant state. However, it cannot be changed at the moment. We can consider ourselves more fortunate that toilet paper is in German headlines rather than mass graves for corona deaths like in Brazil, hundreds of thousands of new hungry people like in Southeast Asia or chaotic conditions in the healthcare system like in United States.
Much more seriously than their supplies, people should take the warnings of the Chancellor, other politicians and virologists in the country so as not to underestimate the rate of infection. The situation is “very serious,” RKI President Lothar Wieler said Thursday. But he was not referring to the situation in supermarkets.
