Seniors stock up at reserved shopping
BILL Barnes jagged a win yesterday.
He bought a packet of toilet paper and dozen eggs – two items he had spent the past four days looking for.
“I won the lottery,” Mr Barnes said.
He was one of 60 seniors who lined up at the Woolworths Range to take advantage of the reserved time for customers aged over 65.
Woolworths and Coles opened early for senior citizens, after many went without food and sanitary supplies resulting from COVID-19-related panic buying across Australia.
“I am 74 years old, and I have never seen anything like this before,” he said.
“I can understand people our age being worried, but each day it is getting more difficult to find food.”
The supermarket giants introduced tight restrictions on buying, but Mr Barnes said many of his fellow seniors either did not get the message, or ignored it.
“The lady in front of me had six packets of frozen vegetables, but the scanner would only register one,” he said.
“I got the last carton of eggs, and the fruit and vegetables are very light on.”
Despite the shortages, Mr Barnes empathised with the staff and urged others to be polite and show compassion as the situation would get worse before life returned to normal.
“Who knows what will happen,” he said.
“Going on what had happened overseas, you would be a fool to think the virus will not reach Toowoomba.
“My brother lives in Asia, and as of (Tuesday) he was completely locked in his house.
“Until last night, they had the supermarkets and pharmacies open, but now there are roadblocks everywhere and the police are patrolling the streets.
“If people think this is the end of it – they are wrong.”