THIS £1BN PANIC BUY IS SHAMING ALL OF US

called Barbara said that the health of low-paid staff is being put at greater danger.

She said: “I feel I am at extreme risk. We are constantly exposed to everything. There is no protection for workers on the till.

“There is no protective gear, no shielding, no one organising the queues, it’s total mayhem.”

Usdaw, Britain’s biggest shopworkers’ union, called for better protection for staff worried about the catching the deadly bug. It said an average of

400 shopworkers were attacked every day even before the crisis and it suspects the rate has increased.

Usdaw spokesman David Williams said: “We are calling for supermarkets to make sure staff are secure.

SHAME

“If the police need to go into stores it will be a real shame to see them diverted away from real emergencies just because shoppers can’t keep their cool.”

Shelves at an Asda in Manchester

Shadow Environment Secretary Luke Pollard said ministers had been too slow to warn off the panic buyers.

He said: “Too often during this crisis the Government has been behind the curve and behind other countries.”

He added: “We need plans that will be suitable for the weeks to come, not the week we have just been through.”

Stores including Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Lidl are now hiring thousands of staff to meet the unprecedented demand. Asda said it will be donating £5million to foodbanks and charities to provide four million meals to those living in poverty.

Mr Eustice was asked to rule out rationing or ration books but said only it was up to supermarkets to decide limits on what shoppers can buy.

Meanwhile the Lib Dems are tabling Commons amendments this week to boost statutory sick pay from £94.25 to £220 a week.

QUEUES Shoppers at Costco in Glasgow 65,000 ventilators 22,200 ECMO oxygen machines 7,400 ICU beds for three months 38,000 nurses for a year 32,400 doctors for a year £1billion would almost treble our aid package to Syria And it would feed 1.7 million starving children in Africa for a year EMPTY