新奇事件簿 抢购引发卫生纸短缺（在线收听）

Shoppers around the world are embarking on panic buying sprees because of fears over the coronavirus. People in countries as far afield as England, Japan, Singapore and Australia have been emptying supermarket shelves of toilet paper, face masks, hand sanitiser and dried and canned food. Governments have advised their citizens that there is no need to "panic buy". They added that panic buying would only reduce the supply of products needed by medical staff and carers, which could exacerbate the problems the COVID-19 virus is causing. Footage of shoppers in Australia brawling over the last pack of toilet roll in a supermarket has gone viral across social media.

由于对冠状病毒的恐惧，世界各地的购物者正掀起抢购狂潮。远在英国、日本、新加坡和澳大利亚等国的人们纷纷清空超市货架上的卫生纸、口罩、洗手液以及干制和罐装食品。各国政府建议市民没有必要‘抢购’。他们又说到，抢购只会减少医务人员和护理人员所需产品的供应，这可能会加剧COVID-19病毒造成的问题。在澳大利亚一家超市里，购物者为最后一包卫生纸争吵的视频在社交媒体上疯传。

Psychologists say panic buying is an "irrational" behaviour that is part of a condition called FOMO - the fear of missing out. Dr Katharina Wittgens said a herd mentality sets in during disasters that causes people to copy the actions of others. People watch the news of items being bought in bulk and immediately rush out to the stores to do the same. She said people were overestimating the risks of dying from the coronavirus. She said: "Far more people die in car accidents or household accidents per year but we don't panic about these things in the morning before we go to work." Singapore's prime minister reassured Singaporeans that: "We have ample supplies. There's no need to stock up."

心理学家表示抢购是一种“非理性”行为，属于一种名为“害怕错过”（FOMO）的心理疾病。Katharina Wittgens博士称，在发生灾难时，人们会产生从众心理，从而模仿他人的行为。人们看到大量采购商品的新闻，就会立即跑去商店做同样的事情。她说道，人们高估了死于冠状病毒的风险。她说：“每年死于车祸或家庭事故的人更多，但我们不会在上班前为这些事情感到恐慌。”新加坡总一再向民众保证：“我们有充足的物资，没必要囤货。”