In one corner shoppers are emptying shelves as fears grow over the spread of coronavirus and in another corner the stock market is under pressure following tracking global peers, Ada Derena has observed.

The government yesterday (12) announced that schools, tuition classes and religious education institutes are closed until April after two Sri Lankans were tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19).

In the aftermath of this announcement, consumers have begun swarming supermarkets and bulk buying goods, raising concerns over whether supermarkets can continue to meet the unexpected demands in their supply chains.

Photos on social media show dozens of people queuing at individual checkouts and lines of empty shelves in supermarkets across the country.

Grocery stores have seen a spike in sales of household items like toilet papers, sanitary products, dry rations, face masks and cases of bottled water in recent weeks.

Endless queues were seen at petrol stations as residence waited in long lines to pump their vehicles with gas, amid fears daily life will be severely disrupted by the spread of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s stock market crashed on Friday (13) in early deals as panic gripping world financial markets deepened.

In equities, Colombo’s All Share Price Index (ASPI)  crashed by 3.72% or  160.76  points to 4,858.79 on early trading and S&P SL20 index of more liquid stocks fell 5.35% or 122.61 points to 2,171.08.

The market was halted for 30 minutes from 10.02 am to 10.32 am this morning (13) as S&P SL20 index dropped by 5% during the trading session from the previous close. S&P SL20 index fell 115.61 points or 5.04% to 2,178.08 and the All Share Price Index also fell 2.98%  or 149.45 points to 4,870.10. This is the third time regular trading at the CSE was temporarily halted this week.

Asia's stock markets were hammered on Friday (March 13)  and even safe-haven assets such as gold and bonds were ditched to cover losses in the wipeout.

Asian markets also pared earlier massive losses, which saw "circuit breakers' temporarily halt trading in several markets.