SYDNEY: An Australian newspaper on Thursday jokingly printed blank pages with marked cut lines for readers to use it as toilet paper as the sanitary products have reportedly sold out in stores across the country amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak.
The NT News printed an eight-page liftout of blank pages with guidelines to cut out in its Thursday paper.
“Runt out of loo paper? The NT News cares. That’s why we’ve printed an EIGHT-PAGE special liftout inside, complete with handy cut lines, for you to use in an emergency,” the newspaper’s ad read.
YES, WE ACTUALLY DID PRINT IT #toiletpapercrisis pic.twitter.com/jusP50ojYu
— The NT News (@TheNTNews) March 4, 2020
The NT News editor Matt Williams told Guardian Australia the paper was selling well and was “certainly not a crappy edition.”
“Territorians … are in great need of toilet paper right now so we had to deliver what they needed,” he added.
BREAKING: WE ARE PRINTING A SPECIAL 8-PAGE LIFTOUT OF TOILET NEWSPAPER TOMORROW IN CASE YOU CAN’T FIND ANY AT THE SHOPS #coronavirus #toiletpapercrisis pic.twitter.com/XHlarEWOV9
— The NT News (@TheNTNews) March 4, 2020
A supermarket in the city of Brisbane had shelves empty of toilet paper Wednesday, CNN reported.
Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has reportedly urged people not to buy supplies in a panic.
A similar trend has happened in America, with customers reportedly clearing shelves of hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes and toilet paper.
Fifty-five confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in Australia, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins.
(with inputs from Agencies)
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