In light of the nation wide spread of the COVID-19 virus, citizens all over Pennsylvania are going to their local supermarkets and stocking up on essentials. The shelves marked for toilet paper, hand sanitizer and cleaning products are being wiped dry.
One Rite-Aid associate stated that the store has been out of hand sanitizer for two weeks and will not be receiving a shipment of them any time soon. She expressed that there was nothing that the employees could do to change the situation but have to interact with customers who are sternly expressing their concerns. Other stores like Family Dollar, Walmart, Target and CVS have issued a limit on toiletries per customer.
In addition to toilet paper and hand sanitizer, there have also been shortages of necessities like cases of water and paper towels. Many of these stores are working diligently to accommodate people who are older or less fortunate. One store displayed a sign that read, “Senior citizens, please ask for assistance. We have extra stock just for you.”
“I think it’s just crazy, some people stocked up so much they didn’t leave anything for anyone else,” Dione Brown, freshman marketing major, said. “They’re not keeping in mind that other people need this stuff too. It’s selfish.”
In Australia, a mother and daughter were charged after a video of them fighting another woman in Woolworths Supermarket over toilet paper went viral. Their shopping cart was completely filled and seemingly overflowing with toilet paper. The 60-year-old mother and 23-year-old daughter duo refused to give the 49-year-old woman toilet paper. The woman was caught on video saying, “I just want one pack.” Things took a turn for the worst when the three began to scuffle.
Many people turned to social media to express their concerns over the potential to have less accessibility to necessities in the coming days. It has become such a prevalent issue that student software developer Ben Sassoon and Sam Harris developed a tool to calculate how long your toilet paper stash will last. You simply visit the website and enter in how many rolls of toilet paper you own and how many times you visit the bathroom a day.
You can click on advanced options and it will factor in how many people live in your house down to sheets per wipe. The website also claims that the average person that uses the calculator has 500 percent more toilet paper than they need to sustain themselves in quarantine.
“Until very recently, many people heard assurance that this was not a major problem. Then, suddenly, they were told to stock up, for an indeterminate period,” psychologist Baruch Fischhoff said according to TIME. He adds that the issue is especially pressing because there are no other substitutions for toilet paper.
Although President Trump assures everyone that “We’re doing great. It all will pass,” and encourages everyone to ‘relax.’ This issue has even inspired a slew of memes and videos on social media. Someone started the #toiletpaperchallenge and Howard’s women’s soccer team responded with a video of them ‘practicing’ online with rolls of toilet paper in place of the soccer ball.
