As coronavirus fears spread, toilet paper panic begins

At least that is what seems to be occurring in the minds of thousands of people across the world as they rush to stockpile toilet paper en masse in response to coronavirus paranoia.

By CARMEL MADADSHAHI
Customers load shopping carts with toilet paper and water at a Costco store in Carlsbad, California (photo credit: REUTERS)
Customers load shopping carts with toilet paper and water at a Costco store in Carlsbad, California
(photo credit: REUTERS)
When it comes to doomsday scenarios, one of the worst is being stuck on the toilet realizing you're out of toilet paper.
At least that is what seems to be occurring in the minds of thousands of people all over the world as they rush to stockpile toilet paper en masse in response to coronavirus paranoia.
The situation is at its most dire point in Australia, as supermarket shelves have been cleared in minutes after the first local death was reported over the past weekend and multiple new cases of the virus emerged sparking a renewed frenzy.
According to the BBC, as of Wednesday, Australia has recorded 44 cases of and one death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and has also banned foreigners who have recently traveled through China and Iran, cautioning it could no longer guarantee that an infected person would not penetrate border checks.
The outrage escalated in Sydney at a branch of the supermarket chain Woolworths, when police rushed to the scene after a shopper allegedly pulled a knife during an argument over toilet rolls in the aisles.
The run on toilet paper in particular set off the trending hashtags #toiletpapergate and #toiletpapercrisis on Twitter, along with photos of overloaded shopping trolleys and eBay sales of a typical 15 dollar pack of 32 rolls retailing for $500.
Baffled officials called for calm.
"We are trying to reassure people that removing all of the lavatory paper from the shelves of supermarkets probably isn't a proportionate or sensible thing to do at this time" explained Dr. Brendan Murphy, Australia's chief medical officer, to parliament this week.
Even Prime Minister Scott Morrison has weighed in on a purchasing trend that appears to be at odds with other countries' stockpiling of items with a long shelf life, such as canned goods, telling the public that major grocers had assured him they could meet any spike in demand.
Australia is not the only country facing the excessive stockpiling.
People in the United States and Japan have also begun to pile their shopping carts with rolls, as many market chains have had to enforce a limit of four packs per customer.
Consumer experts have analyzed the irrational frenzy explaining that the toilet paper panic can be attested to 'herd behavior'.
When we see other people doing something, we feel like we should be doing the same thing.
"If you see someone buying something – and you don't buy that, and it's then unavailable – you can feel buyer's remorse," explained Dr. Bowden, an associate professor of marketing at Macquarie University.
"We saw a lot of that when face masks were first starting to go out of stock, and the same thing is happening with toilet paper. It's the idea that if you don't buy it now, you will miss the opportunity to acquire that product and you may not have that opportunity again."
Toilet paper is not the only problem, as shoppers have also begun to excessively purchase other products.
Costco has put limits on purchases of milk, eggs, rice, disinfectants and soap, and the Coles Group Ltd. began posting signs in stores warning of shortages of hand and laundry sanitizer.
Another consumer expert, Dr. Rohan Miller from the University of Sydney, reported to BBC that we are "not used to shortages and scarcity."
"Toilet paper doesn't really matter - it's just so far down the survival list compared to other things like food or water - but it's just something people cling to as a minimum standard."


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