As fears of a second wave of the coronavirus build up, so do fears of a tighter lockdown and of vital necessities being in short supply due to panic buying.
Last time this resulted in shortages of items like toilet paper, as panicked shoppers topped up on some basic products. To deal with the situation, all the major supermarkets brought in some rationing, and it appears likely that something similar is about to happen, possibly across the board.
Now, both Tesco and Morrisons have reintroduced rationing of some essential and basic items.
Over at Morrisons customers will be limited to three items only for products like toilet paper and disinfectants including bleach.
At Tesco, the list is different by the intention the same, three items per customer only on products such as flour, dried pasta, toilet roll, baby wipes and antibacterial wipes a day.
The new rule is something of a return to the situation during the March lockdown when UK grocers brought in temporary restrictions to try to prevent shelves from being stripped of essentials.
Tesco’s restrictions also apply to online sales, but there some other items have been added to the restricted list, including rice and tins of vegetables.
But Tesco says there is “good availability, with plenty of stock to go round”.
Other supermarkets may not be far behind.
