Unprecedented ‘toilet paper crisis’ is striking Germany: Op-ed

As I write these lines on the Saturday just ahead of Easter, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has just finished a speech on public TV in prime time - something he normally does only at Christmas. Chancellor Angela Merkel also talked about the coronavirus crisis in a speech about a month ago - normally she only speaks to citizens every New Year's Day. They both emphasized the seriousness of the situation and thanked the people for mostly following the restrictions that have been in place for about three weeks now. They also asked that people be patient, show solidarity and stay strong to face the virus. Even so, nothing is normal these days.

"Hamsterkauf"

There are empty shelves in grocery and drug stores. I've never seen this in my life (or at least as far as I can remember). The reason is not that products are actually scarce - except disinfectant and face masks, of course (that is bad enough, as they are often missing even for medical staff and caregivers in retirement homes). The reason is that many people are obviously making so-called "Hamsterkäufe" (Hamster shopping) - that is, they are buying much more of a product than they really need.
The leader in that hamster segment is toilet paper: Some people must have so many rolls that they'll last until the 22nd century, or at least until they have grandkids. In almost every store, there are signs that say you can only buy one of each product. If you take more, it's taken away from your cart at the cash desk in some shops. That, however, has led to some chaotic scenes, where even the police have had to clear up the situation. In one case, a woman lay down on the conveyor belt by the cashier and screamed because she wanted to get three big packages of luxurious loo paper...

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