Shoppers Drug Mart gives seniors exclusive hour to shop amid COVID-19 panic buying

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TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart will set aside an hour each day for seniors and people living with disabilities to pick up the items they need amid a COVID-19 outbreak that has led to long lines and widespread reports of panic buying at some retailers.

In a message posted to Twitter late Monday night, the company indicated that it would dedicate the first hour of shopping at all of its stores to “customers who need assistance or consideration, including seniors and people living with disabilities.”

The decision comes as Ontarians continue to descend on grocery stores and other retailers, despite repeated assurances from officials that there are no supply chain issues and thus no need to hoard items.

Speaking with reporters on Monday morning, Premier Doug Ford pled with residents to stop stockpiling essential items, such as toilet paper, dried pasta and rice, in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I have personally spoken to the vast majority of retailers in Ontario and they have assured me that our supply chain is able to handle the additional pressure,” he said. "There is no need, and I emphasize this, to rush out to stores and to panic buy and hoard essential items that we need."

The decision from Shoppers Drug Mart comes one day after Toronto grocery chain Pusateri’s announced that it would open its stores one hour early at 7 a.m. "to provide access for the elderly and those at a higher risk of infection to pick-up their groceries and food essentials in a quieter shopping environment."