Shoppers queue for hours at supermarkets as festive plans change for many following lockdown
Long queues formed outside supermarkets in Wales on Tuesday morning with people across the country trying to pick up their food shopping before Christmas.
Some shoppers were left queuing for hours to enter the stores, with some telling ITV News that they spent more time queuing to get into the supermarkets than they did shopping.
On Saturday at midnight, Wales was placed into a level 4 national lockdown, with non-essential retail stores, close contact services, gym, leisure centres and hospitality businesses forced to closed and people encouraged to work from home.
The number of coronavirus cases in Wales continues to rise, with a new strain of the virus believed to be responsible for 60 per cent of new infections across the country.
On Monday there were concerns that some supermarkets may run out of fresh food products due to a travel ban and delays at UK ports.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “We are sourcing everything we can from the UK and looking into alternative transport for product sourced from Europe.
“If nothing changes, we will start to see gaps over the coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit – all of which are imported from the Continent at this time of year.
“We hope the UK and French governments can come to a mutually agreeable solution that prioritises the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports.”
Following the national lockdown announcement, the Welsh Government issued guidance to supermarkets in Wales, stopping them from selling 'non-essential' items such as toys, clothes, electrical goods and gardening products.
Pictures on social media on Saturday showed large groups of people lined up outside toy shops, and other retailers before they were forced to close.
Some supermarkets have already started to close off aisles containing 'non-essential' items, similar to what happened during Wales' firebreak lockdown earlier in the year.