Supermarket giant Woolworths has imposed a two-packet limit on toilet paper purchases in its NSW stores amid a COVID-19 lockdown in Greater Sydney and surrounds.
It follows the decision of grocery rival Coles over the weekend to impose the same purchase limit.
Woolworths said in a statement on Monday their decision was based on a spike in demand for the product.
Both grocers have repeatedly emphasised there is no need to panic buy toilet paper amid the COVID-19 outbreak as stock is plentiful and supply chains are not disrupted.
"We have plenty of stock in our supply chain, and our team members will be hard at work making sure it flows into our stores in large volumes for our customers," Woolworths NSW general manager Michael Mackenzie said.
"As always, we encourage our customers to be mindful of others in the community and buy only what they need."
However it seems limits haven't been necessary in all supermarket chains, with no restrictions currently in place at ALDI.
"We do not currently have any product restrictions in place and are working closely with our business partners to ensure that there is plenty of stock available across our stores," a spokesperson for ALDI Australia told AAP.
"We ask shoppers to resist any compulsion to purchase more than they normally would, and to shop with kindness and consideration."
Supermarkets have never closed amid the pandemic and COVID-19, which is a respiratory illness that does not cause intestinal upset.
Flinders University psychology senior lecturer Dan Fassnacht, an expert in compulsive buying, last month said panic buying served as a balm for anxiety amid the pandemic.
He said the behaviour offered the illusion of control.
The Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour areas will be under stay-at-home provisions for at least 14 days amid the Bondi COVID-19 cluster.
That cluster on Monday afternoon numbered 130 people.
