No empty shelves, assures Patel
Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel says the government is in talks with the retails sector to ensure there is sufficient supply of essential goods such as food and medical supplies.
Patel briefed the media in Pretoria on Monday as part of the national command council of ministers.
The council, which was set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to meet three times a week to deal with the spread of coronavirus.
On Monday, thousands of South Africans descended on Makro stores and pharmacies to buy food and essential items after the president declared a state of disaster and closed several ports of entry.
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Patel cautioned against panic-buying, saying the government has the situation under control.
"There are critical industries we are in talks with from healthcare, food, and beverages to make sure that they have their supply lines intact, not only import supply lines but also the domestic supply lines. The retail sector is optimistic that it can work on retaining their supply line, we need to make sure there is no panic-buying because that then leads to further panic in that sector."
Patel gave an assurance that the country has strong domestic industrial capacity to supply the basic consumer goods and that the government is working to ensure there is no disruption.