The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus as a pandemic. Across the globe, somewhere around 400,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have reported with deaths topping 19,000. This has spread to around 100 countries starting from Wuhan, a city in China.
Most of the countries around the world are going into lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. In this regard, since last Wednesday, there has been a downward trend in the number of purchases in the supermarket in the Netherlands.
A decline in supermarket visits!
Especially on Friday and Saturday, there is quite a difference compared to the week before. This is shown by data from Stocard, the leading mobile wallet app in which consumers can store their loyalty cards. Notably, the app currently has nearly three million Dutch users.
“When we look at the total number of shop visits in the Netherlands, we can see a decrease this week as well. However, if we compare this with other European countries, the decline is not so rapid in the Netherlands. Countries that have gone into lockdowns, such as Belgium and France, obviously show a big decrease from then on.”
Also, the only sectors, according to Stocard, currently showing positive purchasing figures, are shops for DIY and gardening. The biggest decline in purchases this weekend is found in clothing stores and drugstores.
6,412 coronavirus cases in the Netherlands!
According to the latest update from public health agency RIVM, the 80 people who tested positive for the virus have died, and the number of positive coronaviruses is now at 6,412, which is a 15.3% increase compared to figures released on Tuesday.
As per RIVM director Jaap van Dissel, the actions taken by the Dutch government seem to be succeeding in flattening the curve of infections. The coronavirus entered the Netherlands on February 27th after a Dutch resident returned from Lombardy, Italy.
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