Toilet roll manufacturer admits supplies are RUNNING OUT as worried shoppers continue to empty supermarket shelves
- Australian toilet paper manufacturer confessed it will likely run out of supplies
- People are increasingly concerned about a potential coronavirus pandemic
- More than 93,000 people have been diagnosed and 3,203 have died globally
- Australia's top health official says panic buying is 'not proportionate or sensible'
An Australian toilet paper manufacturer confessed it will likely run out of supplies if consumers continue to panic-buy at an excessive rate.
Increasing concerns about coronavirus has seen a spike in demand for everyday essentials - particularly toilet paper and hand sanitiser.
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
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)
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 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.
The toilet roll aisle at the Woolworths in Bondi Junction was completely empty on Tuesday afternoon (pictured)
Australian evacuees who were quarantined on Christmas Island over concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus arrive at Sydney Airport in Sydney on February 17 (pictured)
Shoppers were spotted stocking up on excessive amounts of toilet paper as coronavirus hysteria spread
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.
'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.
Across the nation, supermarket shelves are being stripped of all their stock - primarily toilet paper, hand sanitiser and long-live foodstuffs like tinned goods and dried pasta.
An Aldi in Epping, Sydney has placed a one toilet packet per person rule on shoppers
At Costco warehouses, shoppers loaded up their trolleys with extra-large packs of toilet tissue
Staff at Kimberly-Clark, which manufactures Kleenex toilet paper, are working around the clock to keep up with demand.
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.
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'.
This picture, shared on Facebook, shows shoppers panic buying toilet roll in Australia (pictured) amid fears supermarkets could soon run out
Experts predict the number of cases is likely to soar in the coming days, with up to 96,000 residents at risk of dying from the respiratory disease.
Seven more people tested positive to COVID-19 in Australia on Tuesday alone - including the country's second case of human-to-human transmission.
By Wednesday afternoon, there were 43 confirmed cases in Australia, with at least 93,000 infections globally and 3,203 deaths.
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'.
