Coles and Woolworths have reintroduced nationwide buying limits on toilet paper and paper towel in a bid to ward off a resurgence of coronavirus-related panic buying.
The supermarket giants had already placed restrictions on buying from its Victorian stores as the state battles a fresh outbreak of COVID-19.
On Friday, Coles announced customers across Australia would only be able to buy one pack of toilet paper and paper towels per shopper, and two packs of flour, sugar, pasta and rice.
Woolworths has limited NSW customers to two packs of toilet paper and paper towels.
"While the demand is not at the same level as Victoria, we're taking preventative action now to get ahead of any excessive buying this weekend and help maintain social distancing in our stores," managing director Claire Peters said in a statement on Friday.
A worrying spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria has once again instilled anxiety in some Australians of a widespread outbreak.
Shelves were at first being cleared of the common household essentials, with toilet paper once again at the forefront, in Victoria, but reports of similar panic buying has stretched beyond those borders into NSW.
Social media posts have purportedly highlighted empty shelves at Sydney’s Leichhardt Woolworths, and Coles in the western Sydney suburb of Merrylands.
"What the hell Sydney?" One post bemoaned, whilst another also complained of a similar issue at a Coles in Lake Macquarie.
'Stay calm'
Both supermarkets have sought to reassure customers there is enough stock for everyone, with hoarding entirely unnecessary.
“We understand many Victorians are anxious about the recent community outbreak, but they can be assured our stores will remain open with plenty of stock in our warehouses to replenish our shelves,” Ms Peters said earlier this week.
“While we have healthy stock levels to draw on, we’re taking this precautionary step to help prevent excessive buying and support appropriate social distancing in our Victorian stores.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejikilian used her Friday media briefing to urge people to remain calm, as she reiterated there was no need to stockpile.
"Please continue to maintain your calm. Continue to do what you've been doing, NSW is doing incredibly well," the premier said.
"We all have to be on our guard, but we certainly, certainly don't need to change our normal buying habits. So please continue with your normal buying habits, there's nothing to worry about."
Victoria has recorded a further 30 new cases of coronavirus overnight, as infection rates continue to rise. The figures mark the tenth consecutive day the state has recorded a double-digit increase in the number of new cases.
But despite the troubling uptick, Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton reiterated there was absolutely no need for panic buying.
“People are not going to run out of stuff, there are not going to be hundreds of hundreds of people in isolation because we’ve got hundreds of cases,” he said.
“We’ve got a small and steady but very concerning number of cases over the last week, so people can go about their shopping as per normal.”
