Canberra Shoppers Buy Toilet Paper by Trolley-Load as Supermarkets Cap Purchases

A major supermarket chain in Australia capped toilet paper purchases to one pack per customer on March 8 as coronavirus-inspired panic-buying left shelves bare.

Coles moved on the Sunday to reduce its limit on the sale of toilet paper from the previous cap of four packs per customer, a measure it introduced on Thursday after widespread shortages of the product.

A spokesman said the decision was made “to help improve access” to the product. Australia’s other giant supermarket chain, Woolworths, introduced a four-pack limit on Wednesday, a cap it had reportedly further reduced to two packs by Sunday afternoon.

In this video, uploaded to Facebook on March 8, shoppers at a Woolworths outlet in Canberra can be seen carrying multiple packets of toilet paper in their arms and in trolleys.

A third coronavirus-related death was recorded in Australia on the Sunday. There were 76 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the country by midday. Credit: Andronikos Delligeorgis via Storyful