Pingdemic

Britain’s supermarkets are struggling to ensure adequate food supply after reports of panic hoarding due to what the British press calls “ping-demic” – a reference to being “pinged” by the NHS test-and-trace system.

UK’s largest supermarkets are experiencing food shortages after the number of people getting “pinged” on the NHS Test and triggered mass confusion. The NHS app sent a half-million alerts last week, notifying users they have to quarantine for ten days because of possible close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

This has caused a supply chain shock and disruptions as hundreds of thousands of people panic buy food and fuel to survive the quarantine. British newspapers and social media users published pictures of empty supermarket shelves.

No, wait – don’t ask the public not to panic buy agai.. {sighhh} #pingdemic pic.twitter.com/9VeIyE3gcL

— Richard Portman (@richardjportman) July 22, 2021