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'Chaos': South Australia lockdown sparks panic buying with toilet paper stripped from shelves
By Rachael Dexter and Paul Sakkal
Supermarkets will introduce purchasing limits in South Australia after a rush on essential supplies ahead of a hard six-day lockdown to stem a coronavirus outbreak from the state's hotel quarantine system.
Police are on standby at some stores, where toilet paper, eggs, meat and eggs were in high demand, to manage any tensions after South Australian Premier Steven Marshall announced the "circuit-breaker" lockdown would take effect from midnight on Wednesday.
South Australians are panic buying toilet paper.Credit: Nine News
The coronavirus cluster, seeded at the Peppers quarantine hotel in Adelaide's CBD, has so far spread to 22 people, while another seven people suspected of having the virus are undergoing further testing.
Grocery stores will remain open beyond Wednesday's midnight deadline. One person from each household will be permitted to buy groceries once a day.
Images and videos circulating on social media show long queues at supermarkets and shelves stripped bare of toilet rolls.
Panic buying started on Tuesday, a day ahead of Mr Marshall's lockdown announcement, as the Adelaide cluster grew. Nine News has reported that supplies of tissues, meat and eggs were running low in some stores on Wednesday afternoon, while at least one supermarket had run out of toilet paper.
Woolworths and Coles on Wednesday announced two-item limits on products including meats, canned foods, toilet paper, milk, rice, pasta, hand sanitiser and masks.
Woolworths South Australian general manager Karl Weber said the state's supermarkets had high stock levels and reminded customers that supermarkets would stay open during the lockdown.
"We understand this is an anxious time for our South Australian customers, but we encourage everyone to continue shopping as they usually would and only buy what they need," he said.
South Australia Police Commissioner Grant Stevens cautioned people against panic buying. "There is no need for people to rush to supermarkets," he said.
"And if you do go shopping this afternoon, you should expect that you will be managed by staff at the supermarkets and we will have police officers on standby to attend if we see any civil disorder and we would take action.
The head of South Australia's retail union implored the government to deploy police to protect the safety of shop workers.
"The state government's announcement is causing chaos," said SDA state secretary Josh Peak. "There is a run on the shops."
He said shoppers should stop panic buying because supermarkets would remain open even during the lockdown.
A similar rush on groceries and supplies occurred across the country in March when a national lockdown was enforced in the early stages of the pandemic. The phenomenon, which also took place overseas, prompted supermarkets to place limits on the number of certain goods an individual could buy.
The state's Chief Health Officer, Nicola Spurrier, called on South Australians to look out for frail people during the lockdown, which will keep residents confined to their homes for all but essential reasons.
"My advice is, if you have vulnerable members of your family, so elderly people or people with chronic conditions, you give them a call," she said.
"What can we do to support you and that is the sort of community spirit I know that South Australians' have."
South Australian police are set to enforce the tight restrictions which include allowing only one person per household out of their homes once a day. Even exercise will not be permitted outside people's homes.
"Time is of the essence. And we must act swiftly and decisively, we cannot wait to see how bad this becomes," Mr Marshall said.
Supermarket queues are stretching into car parks.Credit: Nine News
"We need a circuit-breaker to stay ahead of this. We need breathing space for a contact tracing blitz to protect the elderly, to protect the vulnerable, to protect our entire community."
Why do people panic buy?
Australians use about 88 toilet paper rolls per person, or slightly less than two rolls a week, over the course of the year, according to data from German market research company Statista. This means a family of four would need about 15 rolls for a 14-day quarantine period.
In early March, top-trending topics on Twitter in Australia were #toiletpapergate and #toiletpapercrisis, as people stockpiled the bathroom essential.
Shelves at some supermarkets were stripped bare on Tuesday after the South Australia COVID cluster grew.Credit: Instagram
David Savage, an expert in behavioural economics at the University of Newcastle, said two key drivers of human behaviour lead to panic buying: loss aversion and herd behaviour. Dr Savage said images of empty supermarket shelves prompt people to believe there will be a shortage, and humans are "loss averse".
Once people see empty shelves, herd theory kicks in, he said. This prompts more people to buy toilet paper, for example, because they have instinctual trust in the judgment of others who buy up big before them.
"And when herd behaviour kicks in and loss aversion kicks in, everyone is in," Dr Savage said.
In addition to this, humans like to feel in control of situations, especially when there is a potential risk involved, he said.
He said it was not irrational for large groups of people to want to feel in control of a risky situation, saying that stockpiling household items and medication was an understandable reaction.
"When disasters happen, we see very strong patterns of behaviour," he said.
with Nick Bonyhady, Robyn Grace