Tearful UK nurse urges stop to panic buying

A Britain-based nurse Dawn Bilbrough -- who works as a critical care nurse in a West Yorkshire hospital -- urged panic buyers to show restraint and think about National Health Service staff like her who could be looking after them.

London: An exhausted nurse who works for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) posted an emotional plea on Facebook, urging people to stop panic buying after she was unable to find basic items in a supermarket following a 48-hour shift.

Dawn Bilbrough, who works as a critical care nurse in a West Yorkshire hospital said panic buyers should show restraint and think about NHS staff like her who could be looking after them "when you're at your lowest".

"I just don't know how I'm supposed to stay healthy. People are just stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it", the tearful nurse said while recording the message in the parking of her local supermarket.

Social media platforms are awash with images of supermarket shelves stripped bare of basic food items due to coronavirus fear.

British authorities have dramatically ramped up measures to combat the new coronavirus, urging all UK residents to avoid unnecessary contact with others and telling people in the most vulnerable groups to stay at home for three months.

Worldwide, more than 2,75,000 people have been infected and more than 11,400 have died.

Over 88,000 have recovered, most of them in China.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

AP