There are even empty supermarket shelves in Germany amid the coronavirus outbreak, and of course there’s a German word to describe the act of panic hoarding. German magazine Der Spiegel reported (link in German) on Feb. 28 that the “first signs of Hamsterkauf” had been seen in Germany, citing discount retailers Aldi and Lidl. At least 129 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Germany, with the number of cases doubling yesterday. Austria is also seeing instances of Hamsterkauf (link in German), after it reported two cases of coronavirus in the southern Tyrol region, which borders Italy, the European country hardest hit by the epidemic. The “Hamsterkauf list” (link in German), as the recommendations are known, was updated in 2016 for the first time since the Cold War as part of new civil defense guidelines.

Source: The Local March 02, 2020 09:11 UTC