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Perth shoppers clear shelves of bottled water, toilet paper and canned food in preparation for coronavirus

Joanne Delalande and Elle Georgiou7NEWS
VideoShelves bare at Claremont Coles as doomsday preppers buy canned food, bottled water and toilet paper.

People in Perth have started stocking up on everyday items in preparation for doomsday-like conditions as fears about the spread of coronavirus soar.

Coles in Claremont was today packed with crowds grabbing bottled water, tinned food and toilet paper as if for a pre-cyclone stockpile.

Hand sanitiser sold out in the store days ago, with pharmacies saying more stock will arrive only after the long weekend.

‘Coronavirus preppers’ stock up on toilet paper, canned food and water in preparation for an outbreak.
Camera Icon‘Coronavirus preppers’ stock up on toilet paper, canned food and water in preparation for an outbreak. Credit: 7NEWS

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Shopper Lucy Bell said the behaviour was concerning.

“There’s so many people grabbing stuff. It’s kind of intimidating,” she told 7NEWS.

“It kind of worries me, seeing that.”

WA has two confirmed cases of the virus so far — a 78-year-old man and his 79-year-old wife, believed to have contracted the disease while on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

But the Australian Medical Association has predicted up to one in four West Australians may contract the virus.

The Federal Government yesterday revealed it would put a travel ban on people coming in from Iran as of today due to the country’s high death rate from coronavirus in a bid to contain the spread of the disease.

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