Supermarket shelves in Australia are being emptied by panic buyers
From CNN's Hilary Whiteman in Brisbane, Australia
Shelves are empty of toilet rolls in a supermarket in Sydney on March 4. Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Australia only has 42 confirmed coronavirus cases -- but that hasn't stopped shoppers frantically buying up supplies.
Shelves have been left empty at supermarkets and pharmacies across Australia, as worried consumers stock up on toilet paper, pasta, rice and face masks.
At a Coles supermarket at Greenslopes Mall in Brisbane, a staff member said Wednesday that a new delivery of toilet rolls was snapped up before workers could even take them off the pallet. Workers were handing packs of rolls straight to customers, said the worker, who did not want to be named as he isn't authorized to speak to media.
CNN did not see any shoppers panic buying, although some could be heard muttering "it's insane" and "it's ridiculous" as they realized some shelves were empty.
When CNN visited the store, there were no toilet rolls, very little dried pasta and rice, and stocks of paper towels and tissues were also running low.
Here's what CNN saw:
Empty shelves in the pasta section of Coles supermarket at Greenslopes Mall in Brisbane, Australia. CNN
No toilet paper in sight at Coles supermarket at Greenslopes Mall in Brisbane, Australia. CNN
How companies are responding:
On Wednesday, Woolworths -- one of Australia's biggest supermarket chains --
announced it would impose a limit of four packs of toilet paper per customer.
Kleenex urged customers not to panic, as the country wouldn't be running out of toilet paper any time soon.
Australia, don’t panic! We are working around the clock at our mill in South Australia to keep the supermarket shelves stocked with Kleenex Complete Clean toilet paper. As you can see we won’t be running out anytime soon.