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PHOTOS: Fraser Valley shelves clearing as coronavirus hoarding continues, but not bare

Stores seeing supplies such as toilet paper, sanitizer and paper towel empty out quickly

It’s difficult, but not impossible, to find paper toiletries right now in the upper Fraser Valley.

Social media has been filled with memes, complaints and disbelief over what seems to be a local hoarding issue. The items in the hottest demand are toilet paper, paper towel, and hand sanitizer, as people get ready to potentially hunker down in isolation due to the novel coronavirus.

READ MORE: VIDEO: Langley stores struggle to keep up with demand for toilet paper

It’s unclear why those particular products are the ones people are snapping up. The emerging virus, which was declared a pandemic on March 11 by the World Health Organization, is a respiratory infection with a dry cough. It is not a flu virus, and therefore does not cause gastrointestinal symptoms.

Further, health officials have repeatedly said that regular and proper hand washing with warm soap and water is suffice to kill the virus.

Black Press reporters in the Fraser Valley have been keeping an eye on the supply and demand of toilet paper in particular, to see if this trend is all talk, or really taking place.

Most stores were definitely depleted, some entirely. But with a little scouting, it didn’t take long to find a few places where those in need could turn. In short, walk, don’t run, to get your next few rolls.

READ MORE: Toilet paper roll selling for $100 on Craigslist as people capitalize on COVID-19 fears


 

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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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