Oh Australia, you’ve gone and done it now. After explicitly stating that there’s no need to hoard supplies like toilet paper following the announcement that Australia has labelled the coronavirus as a global pandemic, you’ve all gone and gone on a panic-buying spree at Coles and Woolworths anyway.
Speaking of the coronavirus panic, the GOAT team talk about the biggest talking points about the disease on ‘It’s Been A Big Day For…’ below:
Due to growing – and misplaced – fears over the coronavirus outbreak becoming worse, Australian shoppers have gone on a panic-buying spree and hoarded up all the toilet paper and hand sanitiser they could find.
Members of the GOAT team has checked out a number of supermarkets throughout Sydney and can confirm that Australia’s currently in the midst of a toilet paper/hand sanitiser panic-buying wave as there are empty shelves everywhere. Seriously, you could throw a rock into a supermarket and hear the clang of empty metal shelves reverberate.
Couple this coronavirus panic-buying spree with the resulting shortage of toilet paper and other supplies in Australia, and what we’ve inadvertently created is a black market for them online. All you need to do is search “hand sanitiser” on Ebay and you’ll find bottles of Dettol and other brands on sale for inflated prices. Toilet paper is still reasonably priced – for now.
We get that the coronavirus outbreak is a serious and scary issue, especially after reports of Australia’s first cases have been confirmed, but the panic buying of toilet paper and hand sanitiser is a massive overreaction. Yes the disease is awful and people are suffering in various ways from it, but we’re far from the “prepare the apocalypse bunker” phase.
Leading health experts (via ABC) are warning everyone in Australia that there’s no need to panic buy toilet paper and other supplies as there’s still plenty of time to prepare for any potential coronavirus pandemic. The recommended thing to do is to simply buy a few more supplies on top of your usual shopping list just in case instead of stripping supermarket shelves bare.
So if you’re worrying over not stocking up on toilet paper and hand sanitiser from your local Coles and Woolworths amidst worries over the coronavirus outbreak, stress less because it’s everyone else in Australia who is overreacting.
As for those who have hoarded all the supplies they could get their hands on in a coronavirus panic-buying spree, maybe you could spare some on the newly-formed toilet paper black market (at reasonable prices) to other people who actually need them.
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