Kleenex to the rescue: Toilet paper brand urges customers to resist panic buying as the mill is working 'around the clock' to make more rolls during coronavirus scare
- Kleenex posted on social media they are making more toilet rolls for customers
- Supermarkets bring in shocking four-pack limit on toilet roll amid panic buying
- People are increasingly concerned about a potential coronavirus pandemic
- Australians are stockpiling household essentials as confirmed cases soar
- Australia's top health official says panic buying is 'not proportionate or sensible'
A toilet paper brand has reassured customers it is producing more rolls as consumers clear supermarket shelves following coronavirus panic buying.
Increasing concerns about coronavirus have seen a spike in demand for everyday essentials - particularly toilet paper, which is racing off the shelves.
Kleenex, one of the country's biggest brands owned by Kimberly-Clark, told customers on social media it is in the midst of making more rolls.
'Australia, don't panic!' the post read.
Toilet roll in particular is racing off shelves, with the country's biggest brands - Kleenex, owned by Kimberly-Clark - told customers on social media it is in the midst of making more
Shoppers around the country have left supermarket shelves bare following coronavirus panic buying. Pictured: empty supermarket shelves and stockpiling customers in Sydney
Shoppers were spotted stocking up on excessive amounts of toilet paper as coronavirus hysteria spread
'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 any time soon,' it said, sharing a photo of the Kleenex warehouse piled high with columns of toilet paper.
It hopes the round-the-clock production will help to slow the panic, as Australian families stock up fearing a total supermarket shutdown.
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This is despite toilet paper being produced on mass in Australia, and no supermarkets reporting a shortage.
It comes as the killer coronavirus threatens to become a global pandemic, with 3,100 people already dead and more than 92,000 infected.
Kleenex reserve supplies will be welcomed by Australian customers in shops around the country as rolls have become increasingly scarce on supermarket shelves.
This picture, shared on Facebook, shows shoppers panic buying toilet roll in Australia (pictured) amid fears supermarkets could soon run out
Sorbent, a local toilet paper manufacturer, released a statement on Wednesday which said they're playing catch up to meet supply demands as shoppers clear supermarket shelves across the nation.
But maintaining supplies would be dependent on shoppers remaining calm and avoiding stockpiling, the company said.
'Some products may have been depleted from shelves; replenishment should catch up, however any sustained panic buying in the volumes seen in recent days will be certain to stress supply,' the spokesman said.
'Stock shortage with allocations may in some cases be necessary.'
The toilet rolls aisles at the Macquarie Centre in Macquarie Park were completely empty on Tuesday
An Aldi in Epping, Sydney has placed a one toilet packet per person rule on shoppers
Woolworths has introduced a four-pack per customer limit on toilet paper, while one Aldi store in Epping radically limited customers to one packet a day.
'Woolworths has today moved to apply a quantity limit on toilet paper packs to ensure more customers have access to these products,' the company said in a statement.
'The purchase limit of four packs per customer transaction applies in-store and online.'
Woolworths is also limiting the sale of hand santiser to two bottles per person, and they will now be kept behind the counter along with cigarettes.
Toilet paper delivery startup company Who Gives A Crap announced on Wednesday they had entirely run out of stock.
Founder Simon Griffiths released a statement which said their sales had increased eightfold since the start of the frenzied shopping.
'With all the panic buying madness, we've sold out of all out products,' the statement read.
Who Gives A Crap toilet paper delivery startup company ran out of stock on Wednesday following increasing demand
Shelves are bare across multiple Australian supermarkets (pictured, left) as worried families stockpile toilet roll (right)
'We're working as hard as possible to restock.'
The company also called on customers to consider their neighbours and offer supplies to others if they realise they've over-ordered.
Video emerged earlier on Wednesday that appeared to show a stampede breaking out at another Woolworths store in Revesby, in the city's south-west.
Anxious shoppers were filmed piling packets of toilet paper into their trolleys, some carrying two packs of 12 at a time.
Supermarket shelves have also been stripped of other stock including hand sanitiser and long-live foodstuffs like tinned goods and dried pasta through excessive panic buying.
The toilet roll aisle at the Woolworths in Bondi Junction was completely empty on Tuesday afternoon (pictured)
At Costco warehouses, shoppers loaded up their trolleys with essentials including extra-large packs of toilet tissue
Health officials confirmed 43 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus - now known as COVID-19 - in Australia as of Wednesday afternoon.
The country's chief medical officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, told Parliament panic buying toilet paper wasn't a 'proportionate or sensible thing to do at this time'.
Experts predict the number of cases is likely to soar in the coming days, with seven more people testing positive to COVID-19 in Australia on Tuesday alone - including the country's second case of human-to-human transmission.
Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Warwick McKibbin warned a global pandemic could wipe out 68 million people worldwide, including 96,000 Australians.
Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted there was 'every indication' the world would imminently enter 'the pandemic phase of the virus'.
