City ‘vultures’ are slammed after travelling to rural towns ‘by the busload’ to clear out regional supermarkets in a panic buying frenzy
- City residents have been flocking to rural towns to clear out supermarkets
- Locals say city ‘vultures’ have been arriving by the ‘busload’ to bulk-buy goods
- Supermarkets shelves in Kilmore, Traralgon, Wallan have been left vacant
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Locals in regional Victoria have been left outraged over city residents who have been swarming into town to clear out supermarkets in a panic-buying frenzy.
Residents from Kilmore, Traralgon, Wallan and Ararat have slammed city ‘vultures’ for coming in by the ‘busload’ and emptying grocery store shelves as a potential coronavirus lockdown looms.
Another 23 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Victoria overnight, taking the state’s total number of positive tests to 94.
The spike in cases comes as state officials declared a state of emergency to deal with the spread of deadly virus that has killed five people in Australia and more than 6,500 worldwide.
Nervous shoppers are believed to be coming in from Melbourne to hit supermarkets for items that have been sold out in the city amid the panic-buying chaos.
Locals in regional Victoria have been left outraged over city residents who have been swarming into town to clear out supermarkets in a panic-buying frenzy. Pictured: General view outside a Woolworths in Sunbury as people wait outside on Tuesday
Supermarket giants including Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have been forced to implement buying restrictions on certain items as panic-buying takes over
‘It’s happening all around here. It’s in Seymour, Wallan,’ Diane, from Kilmore, 60km north of Melbourne, told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Tuesday.
‘Someone came into our bakery yesterday and took every loaf of bread.’
Rhys, from Ararat, in Victoria’s south-west, said he had noticed ‘a lot of different people’ who appeared to be from out of town shopping in the area in recent days.
‘We’ve had a supermarket attendant say he had a busload come in the other day,’ he told the radio station.
Supermarket giants including Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have been forced to implement buying restrictions on certain items as customers have been stockpiling on toilet paper, hand sanitiser and pantry items in fear of a lockdown.
A zero tolerance sign was placed outside Woolworths in Sunbury (pictured) over concerns about staff wellbeing
Shelves are bare across multiple Australian supermarkets (pictured, left) as worried families stockpile toilet roll (right)
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia soared to 450, with New South Wales, the country’s worst-hit state, recording 39 new cases on Tuesday with a total of 210.
Tourist panic-shopping appears to be taking hold in NSW as well, with some residents in Mudgee, northwest of Sydney, complaining over the lack of supplies due to city folks travelling in to bulk-buy.
‘People from Sydney [are] packing cars to the brims. Our supermarkets don’t get enough supplies only enough for our population let alone hoarders. It’s really sad and I think it needs to be policed from now,’ one angry resident said on Facebook.
‘Usually city folk hoard wine not milk!’