Toilet paper limit reinstated in Victoria
Coles and Woolworths have been forced to reinstate purchase limits on toilet paper and other essential items after a spike of new coronavirus cases in Victoria led to panic buying.
The state has had 128 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week, with the local government areas of Brimbank, Casey, Cardinia, Darebin, Hume and Moreland identified as virus hotspots.
Woolworths announced on Wednesday it had reinstated a purchase limit of two items on toilet paper, eggs, flour, hand sanitiser, long-life milk, mince, paper towels, pasta, sugar and rice across its Victorian stores.
The supermarket describes the move as "preventative" and in response to "significantly elevated demand seen over the past 24 hours in certain parts of Melbourne".
Coles is also limiting purchases of similar products in Victoria and at NSW stores near the state's border including Albany, Deniliquin and Lavington, though shoppers will only be able to purchase one pack of toilet paper or paper towels.
Both supermarkets have sought to reassure customers there is enough stock for everyone.
"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," Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said in a statement.
"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."
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."
