Coronavirus forcing Australians into a toilet paper frenzy

Perhaps the worst doomsday scenario is this: being stuck on the toilet and finding you're down to the last square.

At least that appears to be the nightmare prospect scaring many Australians right now, who have become the latest group to respond to coronavirus fears by buying toilet paper in bulk.

This is despite authorities stressing there is no shortage - given most of the nation's rolls are made locally.

However in Sydney, the nation's largest city, supermarket shelves have been cleared in minutes, forcing one chain to enforce a four-pack buying limit.

BBC News reports police were even called to a dispute yesterday, with reports saying a knife was pulled out in an argument over toilet roll between panic buying shoppers.

On social media, #toiletpapergate and #toiletpapercrisis were top trending yesterday.

Rolls were being flogged for hundreds of dollars online, while listeners were calling into radio stations to win packs of toilet paper.

The toilet paper problem is not unique to Australia - a similar situation besieged places worse-affected by the virus, such as Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.