This is a post that was initially going to be a protest post but has now turned into an interesting psak.

The article linked intially said that rabbonim have paskened that this year, because of the virus situation, it is ok to buy chametz after Pesach that had been sold to a gentile, and it called such chametz "chametz she'avar alav et hapesach" - chametz that went through pesach in the ownership of a Jew. Normally such chametz is prohibited from being eaten, but this year it would be ok to buy such chametz and consume it. The catch is that they were using this status, and this "leniency", for chametz that was not owned by a Jew but had been sold to a gentile. They turned the hakpada, or possible chumra, of not buying chametz that had been sold into a halacha that keeps the status of such chametz as being Jewish owned and therefore prohibited and not just a stringency or hakpada. In the article they still use the term "chametz she'avar alav et hapesach", but not as definitively as before.

My protest was going to be that such chametz does not get that status. No matter who wants to be makpid or machmir and not eat such chametz, it remains a chumra or hakpada, but the chametz is not considered as having been owned by a Jew and prohibited.

I guess enough people protested before I could get to it (I see one in the comments on the article) and they changed it.

So now it is just an interesting psak. Here goes.

Kikar is reporting that a group of leading dayanim in Bnei Braq have paskened that people can be lenient this year and buy chametz that had been sold to a gentile for Pesach. The reason is due to the current situation being an urgent and pressing situation that allows for [some] leniencies.

Some people, and I guess it is popular in Bnei Braq, but it is also a custom, or behavior, followed by some in all Haredi communities, are careful to not buy chametz that had been sold for Pesach to a gentile, but to only buy fresh chametz that had been made from flour that had been ground after Pesach.

This year, because of Corona people can be lenient about this.

The reason for the allowed leniency even by those who are normally strict about this is to prevent people from being out too long, more than necessary, looking for food items that meet their requirements. People will end up spending too much time int he stores looking for acceptable food items, and this will cause a danger to the public.

Rav Silman explained that because it is a chumra, a stringency, to not rely on the sale of chametz, in light of the Corona plague, he is canceling his information line about such produced foods so that he will not be seen as encouraging people to go out extra and numerous times to acquire such foods. The current situation is categorized as an urgent and pressing time of need and therefore people can be lenient.

I always enjoy seeing a straight halacha being considered as a leniency, and a chumra or hakpada taken on by some described as the baseline.