One of the most subtly devastating side effects of the Coronavirus panic is the slow realization that most of us are actually pretty useless in a crisis. Despite calls to keep calm and rekindle the “Blitz spirit”, the sight of ransacked shelves and stressed shoppers has revealed that our natural responses to trauma need some work.
However, just because many people have treated this week like it’s the last time they will ever see dried pasta doesn’t mean that the whole world’s gone totally mad. In fact, in some places, the public seems to not only be listening to calls for calm, but are even responding reasonably conscientiously to the situation.
A video from a supermarket in Lausanne, Switzerland has emerged to reveal that buying up every available tinned tomato isn’t a prerequisite to getting through COVID-19. Shot by an Australian woman, the clip reveals well-stocked shelves and dozens of shoppers calmly going about their business.
She accompanied the clip with a revealing caption, writing:
"Just back from the supermarket here in Switzerland. We're on day 2 of a country-wide lock down and it looks like this. Everyone seems to be keeping their cool and doing what they need to do to get through this thing."
Watch As Nurse Left In Tears As Coronavirus Panic-buyers Stop Her From Buying Food After Her 48-hour Shift:While some of the accompanying comments were a little skeptical of the footage, for the most part, viewers expressed their frustration that a similar approach hadn’t been adopted in their own countries. Many pointed out the contrast between Switzerland and the UK, with several sharing their own snaps of bare shelves from local stores.
The publication of the video follows a week of impassioned appeals from workers on the frontline against the disease. Dozens of photos and videos have emerged, revealing shoppers struggling to find the supplies they need following long shifts fighting against Coronavirus. Even if the Swiss clip isn’t entirely representative, it still shows something we can learn from.
