Supermarkets are once again seeing a rush of customers as panic shoppers stock up

Supermarkets are once again seeing a rush of customers as panicked shoppers stock up on toilet paper and other supplies as Queensland is set to be plunged into lockdown from tonight.

Shoppers had already started to strip the shelves bare this morning as panic buying once again ramped up before the premier announced Queensland would be going into another lockdown from 6pm tonight.

Toilet paper, eggs and vegetables had been going out the door in supermarkets around the southeast, but officials from the big grocery store chains are continuing to urge people to only buy what they need.

Photos posted to social media by 9.30am depicted near-empty toilet paper shelves at Racecourse Village in Ascot, Woolworths in Noosa and Noosa Civic, and at Coles in New Farm and Kedron.

Other photos show near-empty shelves of eggs and vegetables, such as fresh broccoli, also at the Kedron Coles.

Empty toilet paper aisles at New Farm Coles this morning. Picture: Supplied.

There were similar scenes at Coles in Taigum, Newmarket, and in Hope Island, on the Gold Coast, which had barely any toilet paper left by 10am.
Eggs and milk also scarce at most grocery stores.

The panic shopping was prompted by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Monday announcement that the southeast was on the verge of another lockdown after a Sunshine Coast woman tested positive to the highly contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, marking the first time the fast-spreading strain has entered the Sunshine State community.

The fly-in, fly-out employee at the Northern Territory gold mine was out in the community for one day while unknowingly infectious.

By lunchtime today, Ms Palaszczuk proclaimed several parts of Queensland would head into a three-day lockdown from 6pm tonight after four new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the past 24 hours, including in a young woman who works at a major Brisbane hospital.

Empty shelves at Coles in Taigum. Picture: Facebook.

Southeast Queensland, Townsville, Palm Island and Magnetic Island will now be in lockdown until 6pm Friday.

A Woolworths spokesman said an increase in demand had been noticed in “key local government areas” but was not reflected across Queensland.

“We’re seeing pockets of elevated demand in some areas, and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said.
“We have plenty of stock coming into our distribution centres, and have also increased the volume of product flowing into our stores.
“As always, we ask customers to be mindful of others in their local community and buy only what they need.”

Some vegetable supplies are dwindling after a rush of panic shoppers at Coles in Kedron. Picture: Darren Cartwright.

A Coles spokeswoman said customers were urged to only buy what they need as all Coles supermarkets, liquor and Coles Express sites would remain open despite the area being plunged into another lockdown.
“Our stores will remain open during the lockdowns and they can shop as normal during this time,” she said.

“We’ve increased deliveries and we are regularly restocking shelves to ensure we continue to meet customer demand.
“We have plenty of stock in our supply chain, and we ask that customers stay calm, shop normally and be respectful to our hardworking team members.”

Panic buying at supermarkets in Queensland. Picture: Darren Cartwright.

It is understood the infected Sunshine Coast woman, from Bli Bli, was among 170 fly-in and fly-out workers in Queensland who were exposed to the virus at a remote NT work site after another miner also contracted Covid-19.

All of the remaining 169 workers have been tracked down by officials and have been placed in quarantine, with most of them tested.

Wearing masks became mandatory in southeast Queensland again from 1am today.

Originally published as Supermarkets are once again seeing a rush of customers as panic shoppers stock up