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Original poster

Corona Virus...I live in Australia, nobody's even talking about it much

103 replies

FortunesFave · 03/03/2020 21:30

And we don't have a shortage of hand sanitizer or face masks...nobody seems bothered.

There have been 31 cases in Australia as far as I know...and compared to the UK's 51, that's high considering how small the population in Oz is.

I'm curious as to why nobody here is panicking....I'm not seeing posts on Facebook about it among my Aussie fb friends but I am from my UK fb friends....

OP posts:
Wombatstew · 04/03/2020 04:22

I am in regional NSW, I spent $500 on shopping last week to stock up but only on things we would ordinarily buy. I was in town today and popped into my local Woolies, the shelves seem fairly full but I did notice there was no powdered milk. If CV really takes hold TP will be the least of my worries.

eaglejulesk · 04/03/2020 04:23

I have a friend in Perth and she had to drive halfway around town to buy a basic item. I'm in NZ and while people have been going crazy in Auckland I thought we were immune in the South Island - until I saw a woman in a supermarket today buying toilet paper as though it was going out of fashion Confused

BinkyandBunty · 04/03/2020 04:31

The Prime Minister's had to intervene to make sure the country doesn't run out of toilet paper! I think Adelaide might be a little pocket of reason because the rest of the country seems obsessed.

4 out of 5 top articles on news.com.au were about the virus yesterday. Drama llama headlines about stockmarket crashes, food shortages, how likely we are to die by age group.

Original poster
FortunesFave · 04/03/2020 04:36

Ironically my FB feed is now full of photos of empty shelves!

OP posts:
macdhui · 04/03/2020 04:46

Fortunes, I live in rural Australia and CV has been the lead story on the ABC radio and TV for weeks. It has also been a huge topic of conversation amongst all Australians. I know and the impact to our economy alone are already impacting.
I hardly think fb is an accurate indicator of what is happening world wide and to our country. Get informed and listen to a reliable broadcasting new service like the ABC.

Nitpickpicnic · 04/03/2020 05:14

It’s all anyone is talking about in Melbourne, and northern Victoria today. Literally no other topics. My local supermarket had 7 pallet-loads of loo roll at 8am, all gone by lunchtime. Ditto tissues and pasta.

No one seems to hoarding tampons or pet food, or salt for all those pasta and rice packets. I can’t figure out why?

WhatTheFronti · 04/03/2020 05:23

The economic impacts of this are going to be horrible, especially for tourism and farming based communities like my own. I think toilet paper hoarding are going to be the least of our worries. If people are attempting to exercise some illusion of control by stockpiling ( and the manufacturers are already ramping up to meet demand) let them. It's going to be bumpy from here on in.
Sorry for my woeful tone...

SnowsInWater · 04/03/2020 05:33

I’m in Sydney.I started hearing about it at the beginning of term when DD’s school started sending updates the week before school went back outlining their exclusion policy for students which seemed a bit excessive at the time but now of course it’s a big deal everywhere. I thought people were exaggerating the toilet paper thing (lots of pictures on FB etc.) until I went to Woolies today genuinely out of bog roll and the shelves were empty. Our local IGA has it stacked in pallets outside and they are charging $17 for 24 rolls!!!!!!!!! I had planned on going to Costco this week as DS1 has just got a card but really don’t fancy a scrum.

janaus50s · 04/03/2020 05:38

Fortune. Have you tried buying toilet paper lately? Shelves are bare. So much media hype, it’s ridiculous. No sanitizer, no face masks left either. Melbourne here.

Ohwhatbliss · 04/03/2020 05:41

I don't know where you are but people are definitely panicking in Perth! No toilet roll, Woolies implementing a per customer limit, no pasta or sauce, flour, water, long life milk, medicines or antibacterial products

Londonlassy · 04/03/2020 06:41

Hello @MaitlandGirl recently moved from Aberglasslyn closer to Newcastle. Mumsnet is a very small world! Lots of pandemic buying here. I don’t see Australia as being any different from other parts of the world - we have an overstretched health system, politicians more interested in re-elections than actual leadership and loads of international travellers making it impossible to contain coronavirus . Like the rest of the world lots of Australians are worried

bluetongue · 04/03/2020 06:48

I can report back shopping at an inner suburban Adelaide Coles and the news isn’t good. There weren’t any feverish shoppers grabbing items and the shelves were fairly well stocked until I got to the toilet paper. The shelves were bare - just like I’ve seen on the news Angry

This is an entirely preventable shortage. From what I’ve seen on the news people weren’t just buying a few extra rolls, they were hoarding. It’s really selfish and if I’d seen it in person I would have been tempted to say something.

I’ll try Woolworths on the weekend. At least they’ve brought in limits.

bluetongue · 04/03/2020 06:50

Oh and it was brought up in a work meeting the other day that the State Government is planning for 30% of the workplace being absent at the height of the epidemic. No issue with sort of planning.

hoovermyrug · 04/03/2020 06:58

Well I've just seen pics from my Melbourne based friends shopping in empty supermarkets. Australia is quite a big place.

Aragog · 04/03/2020 07:00

Mumsnet posts about it are totally OTT compared to my real life. I don't think I've seen anyone post about it in my FB and Instagram pictures at.
It's only been briefly talked about amongst work colleagues and that's more about potential closures as we are a school.

DropYourSword · 04/03/2020 07:02

Just saw a friend link to a new story that a woman pulled a knife on someone arguing over loo paper. Was the daily fail though, so who knows ¯\(ツ)/¯

LucheroTena · 04/03/2020 07:03

It’s because this site is full of people with nothing else to do except get paranoid.

JulietTango · 04/03/2020 07:25

We're on holiday in Australia in a couple of weeks time. Hopefully everyone will have stocked up by then and no one will need to buy anything so we'll have plenty of choice GrinGrin

user1539506092 · 04/03/2020 07:47

Also to add, Bunnings have no face masks for tradies (as they have sold them back to China apparently!)

wonkylegs · 04/03/2020 07:47

I think people get caught up in hysteria which multiplies on a local basis
Here I keep reading you can't buy hand sanitiser anywhere .... except my supermarket had a whole shelf of the stuff barely touched and same went for our local pharmacy
The only shortages were because a delivery had failed to come in so random sections were empty
We have only really heard chatter about it in day to day life because the kids were pissed off their school didn't have a skiing trip to Italy (in fact very few schools in our area have half term skiing apart from the private school which went to France) so they could have an extra 2 weeks off.

squeekums · 04/03/2020 08:13

I'll never understand why people here knock Adelaide so much. It's ignorant as hell. The place is frigging beautiful and the people are too. It's terribly unimaginative to take the piss out of S.A. when residents feel lucky as anything to live here
I was born in Adelaide, as was dp, lived very side Inc in the hills, it's nice to visit, great wine, some stunning scenery but it's a giant country town with little to do year in, year out, little changes. I found people way more friendly interstate. If you wanna study medicine or sub building your in right state but dd don't want that so even further education is limited. I always will have a soft spot for Adelaide, it's my hometown but there no denying the drawbacks
We looking to leave SA entirely. We left Adelaide for a rural town few years back simply to escape the b.s. of Adelaide. And yes there even less out here lol But it's quieter and we still have loo paper on the shelf in the local shop lol

squeekums · 04/03/2020 08:20

Oh and the panic buy is stupid, the local producer Kimberly Clarke is now on a 24/7 production. They apparently already produce 60% of our toilet paper on regular production
They have our behinds covered.....

pedanticstyleguide · 04/03/2020 08:25

I'll never understand why people here knock Adelaide so much

Going off topic, I've not been but it was featured on Michael Portillo's Great Australian railway journeys and I definitely want to go there. Everyone raves about Melbourne, I thought from the programme that Adelaide looked nicer (I've been to Perth and Sydney).

WhatTheFronti · 04/03/2020 08:55

@pedanticstyleguide it is very nice! I hope you make it to visit one day.

I don't get the Adelaide hate... but then people used to rip the piss out of Tasmania and Hobart now you can't keep the east coasters out and from buying up the place...

PigletJohn · 04/03/2020 09:49

Toilet rolls are noticeable. The number used in normal circumstances in very predictable. Ever day the shops have a day's worth in stock, and sell a day's worth. There is day's worth in trucks on their way to restock the shops. There is a day's worth in warehouses to refill the trucks tomorrow. There is a bit extra to avoid empty shelves.

The following day's worth is in cargo ships on its way to rereplenish the country.

If there is a holdup, for example a truckers strike, or a badly-planned change to tear up international trade agreements, we run out in three days.