Goulburn and Southern Highlands Coles and Woolworths have restrictions in place

How are Woolworths and Coles dealing with the pandemic and was the panic buying really necessary?

A Woolworths spokesperson said the panic wasn't needed.

"We know it's an unsettling time for many of our customers across NSW," they said.

"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.

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"As always, we encourage our customers to be mindful of others in the community and to buy only what they need."

The spokesperson explained the current situation in the stores.

"In line with the health advice, it's vital we do all we can to limit our time in the community during the lockdown," the Woolworths spokesperson said.

"We have a range of digital planning tools and online shopping services, which can help NSW residents get all their essentials while also reducing time in store.

"It's not often you'll hear a retailer urge customers to spend less time shopping, but that's exactly what we all need to do right now.

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"If you need to visit a store, please be kind to each other and our team, sign in with the government QR code and, wherever possible, have just one household member do the shopping.

"Our team members have and will continue to work very hard to serve our community as quickly and safely as possible.

"To uphold safety in its stores, Woolworths is conducting additional monitoring of social distancing and has put on extra team members support with additional cleaning and wiping down of trolleys."

A spokesperson from Coles also said the panic buying was unnecessary.

"We have plenty of stock in our supply chain and we ask that customers stay calm, shop normally and be respectful to our hard-working team members," they said.

For Coles, the health and safety of customers and team members remain their top priority.

"All Coles supermarkets, liquor and Coles Express sites will stay open during this time," the Coles spokesperson said.

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"We have increased the frequency of cleaning in high touchpoint areas including self-checkout screens and keypads, in addition to our existing safety and hygiene measures in stores to help keep customers and team members safe.

"We will continue monitoring customer numbers and encourage them to use the sanitising stations at the entrance to our stores, which include hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes for trolleys before they enter.

"We also ask that customers check-in each time they visit our stores by scanning the QR Codes on display at the front of the store, above the sanitiser stations within the store, or at the checkouts.

"We ask our customers to ensure they are wearing a face mask before entering our stores unless they have an exemption."

While both supermarkets have their ways of dealing with the pandemic, they both have a purchase limit of two toilet paper packs per customer.

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