[ad_1]
reCitizens should stay home whenever possible, closure is approaching day by day: Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) have verbally thrown heavy weapons to encourage Germans to have more Be careful when dealing with Coronavirus Movement. It is now clear that the increasingly drastic warnings are continuing to work. In fact, people are changing their behavior, although sometimes in ways that are less politically desirable.
Under the keyword #Klopapier, photos of supermarkets were making the rounds on social media such as short message service Twitter over the weekend, with shelves already noticeably empty. As in the spring, consumers are seemingly buying back in larger quantities than usual, especially of toilet paper, pasta and preserves. At least in some branches there is again slightly higher demand, report discount stores Lidl and Aldi Süd. According to Lidl, hygiene products have been mainly affected so far. A branch of Edeka in the Lake Constance region posted a video on Twitter with their latest toilet paper packages and wrote: “Not again, please, normal numbers of households.”
Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) is calling on consumers not to buy larger quantities than usual despite the growing number of corona infections. “There is no reason to buy hamsters,” he told FAZ. “The supply chains are working, that still applies.” At no point during the pandemic was the food supply in Germany at risk. “Hoarders act not only illogically, but also in a lack of solidarity. end, many end up in the trash. “
Alsatians storm the supermarkets
Hamster purchases are not yet a widespread phenomenon. Reports on the emptying of the shelves come mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg. In southwestern Germany, fear of border closures also plays a role. In the small town of Kehl in Baden, there has been a rush of buyers from Alsace in recent days. The people of Baden-Württemberg were also increasingly sourcing, reported Sabine Hagmann, general manager of the Baden-Württemberg Trade Association.
Chancellor Helge Braun (CDU) said on Friday that consumers shouldn’t have to worry. Agriculture Minister Klöckner is also trying to reassure: “From the lockdown-like situation in the spring, we have important empirical values for economies to succeed in the pandemic,” he said. “The conviction not to close borders without a prior agreement is also important for the European exchange of goods to function in times of pandemic.”
The Swedish company Essity is also ready. It manufactures products such as Zewa toilet paper and Tempo tissues in seven factories in Germany. Every year 283,000 tons of toilet paper, towels and handkerchiefs leave the Mannheim plant. “As the largest toilet paper manufacturer in Germany, we have always been producing around the clock, even on weekends,” said a spokeswoman. In the second week of March, sales of toilet paper in Germany more than doubled compared to the previous year.
Reserves in the collapse of the railway
The fact that Germans’ desire to travel is cooling down after the heated discussion about accommodation bans is likely better than recent hamster purchases. Regional trains are still well crowded with travelers. The situation is different in Deutsche Bahn long-distance traffic. In the past two weeks, the booking numbers have literally collapsed, according to company circles. The number of travelers in early fall had again reached almost 80 percent from the previous year. The recent decline and the financial consequences will be the subject of the Group’s board meeting on Tuesday.
The movement data of mobile phone users also suggests that people are reducing their range. According to Google figures, people currently spend 23 percent less at their workplaces and 20 percent less at train stations than in pre-Crown times. Compared to the beginning of October, the figures have dropped again significantly. However, the fall break is likely to play a role in some federal states. Stay in parks has recently increased.
Federal Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) sees no danger of politicians closing shops and restaurants as they did in the spring. “We don’t need a new lockdown,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. On Tuesday he wants to speak with representatives of the trade about the precarious situation of stores in the center of cities, at least those stores that do not sell toilet paper or groceries.