With the lockdown of the Northern Beaches and some loose advice about the rest of Sydney staying at home, panic buying for toilet paper has once again returned, says Sky News host Chris Smith.
New South Wales recorded eight new coronavirus infections overnight, with seven linked to the Avalon cluster.
The state also set a record in Australia, with 44,466 tests being reportedly undertaken in a 24-hour period.
“What is it about toilet paper that Australians in a crisis always turn to as their most valuable supermarket item?” Mr Smith said.
He showed a photo from Coles at Zetland in Sydney – a suburb which is “nowhere near the Northern Beaches” – and there was “not a roll in sight”.
“In this year of wreckage and reckoning, it’s a trend that has dumbfounded the world, not just Australians,” he said.
“It makes no sense.”