A doctor has spoken out about coronavirus outbreak and urged people to “stay calm” instead of overreacting because “panicking does not help anybody.
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As Covid-19 continues to affect more and more people all around the world, thousands of frantic individuals have started preparing for the worst by bulk shopping.
While the outbreak is to be taken seriously, Australian Medical Association’s Dr. Chris Moy insisted that panicking was doing more damage in Australia than the virus itself.
“We are facing a potentially serious illness. It’s a virus that’s going to affect the whole community but what we need here is to inform people with clear information in a calm way, and not overreact,” he said in an interview with Daily Mail Australia as he urged people to remain calm.
“We don’t know how COVID-19 will play out but the best thing to do as a community is to calm down and work together because panicking does not help anybody, it’s creating a problem in it itself.”
Despite the government’s and supermarkets’ attempts to curb panic-buying, frantic shoppers around the country continue to stockpile items such as toilet paper and rubbing alcohol.
There were also several incidents in which individuals engaged in a physical showdown with other shoppers over rows related to purchasing toilet paper.
“There has been a significant level of anxiety. There’s a widespread of toilet paper hoarding but when you stand back and take a look, it really is just a psychological strategy to cope with anxiety,” the doctor told Daily Mail Australia.
“People can’t control how they feel and they are worrying about their future so they are resorting to this psychological strategy – and that’s by hoarding toilet paper.”
Urging the people to “band together,” Dr. Moy also drew a comparison to the bushfire crisis and explained how the nation worked together at the time.
“Another thing to keep in mind is… an interesting phenomenon, when the bushfires happened in Australia, people went into danger to save others. We were lending a hand to those who needed help,” he added.
“Now we just need that same spirit here, it’s far more useful to band together as a community instead of panicking. We can benefit from this just by looking out for each other.”
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