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AUSTRALIA

COVID-19 shopping panic harms seniors

  • 10 March 2020
Since the potential pandemic warning, Australian shoppers have raided supermarkets in preparation for indefinite quarantine. The stockpiling has left many facing empty aisles and lacking basic necessities. But this doomsday practice extends beyond not being able to buy pasta shells or running out of toilet paper — it also leaves vulnerable populations at risk.

Older people are particularly suffering at the expense of quick-handed customers. Overfilled trolleys have a ripple effect on senior citizens’ routines, health and safety. Both physical limitations such as mobility, vision and hearing, as well as cognitive conditions like dementia or mental health can make day-to-day chores challenging enough.

So when the elderly are confronted by bare shelves in wake of COVID-19, they are faced with a difficult choice: find alternatives within their means if supplies are available at all, or go without.

Seniors without driver licenses already only shop fortnightly or monthly, so they lack the opportunity to travel further away to buy goods sold out near them.

IGA St Ives, for example, is located near a retirement village and estimates nearly half its customer base are senior citizens. Retail manager Sasha Vallaydam says this demographic is overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of groceries being wiped out.  

Items on special can be vital for pensioner budgets, however, these yellow-docket products have been the first to go. When his toilet paper supply began to dwindle, Sasha saw some elderly customers calculating the difference in pricier brands to assess if they could afford it.

 

'The panic buying around coronavirus is seriously disadvantaging the elderly’s daily functioning, on top of the fact that the virus, if not contained, will claim more fatalities from this demographic than any other age bracket.'  

Alternatives to buying in store are also limited. The stock levels have incapacitated the franchisor’s ability to fulfil necessary home delivery services, and scrounging the net for stock is a privilege, as older people are less likely to have a connection to the internet or to know how to use online shopping for orders.

As a result, elderly shoppers 'must rely on family, friends or services to help them when goods are sold out,' says Lila Rhodes, an aged care worker. 'This is not always possible, especially for those who don’t have family close by, a strong friendship base or their connections are in the same position as them.'

Lila works with clients through the Federal Home Care Package scheme, which allocates benefits
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