Elderly Australian woman 'left in tears' at empty supermarket shelves amid pleas to stop hoarding food

A heartbreaking photo of an elderly woman standing in front of empty supermarket shelves has gone viral as people joined calls for shopping to stop stockpiling during the coronavirus outbreak.

The picture, shared by Channel 9's Seb Costello, highlights the sobering reality facing many not only in Australia, but countries around the world as supermarkets grapple with unprecedented panic buying.

He reported that the woman, who was shopping in Melbourne, was left in tears in front of cleared out shelves where tinned foods are usually kept.

He wrote: "This captures who is suffering from the me-first, unnecessary trend of panic-buying."

It came as the hashtag #StopHoarding began trending on Twitter.

Every day since the outbreak began, in countries around the world, aisles have been stripped bare as shoppers stockpile foods and household goods, despite warnings that it is not necessary.

Australian supermarkets have now implemented dedicated shopping hours, typically during the first hour of business in the morning, for the elderly and vulnerable to get their groceries.

Nevertheless, some have said there is still not enough stock for everyone to get what they need.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pleaded with Australians to stop buying unnecessary supplies.

"On bulk purchasing of supplies: Stop hoarding. I can't be more blunt about it," he said.

"Stop it. It is not sensible, it is not helpful and it has been one of the most disappointing things I have seen in Australian behaviour in response to this crisis.

"That is not who we are as a people. It is not necessary. It is not something that people should be doing."

He added: "I am seeking Australia's common-sense cooperation with these very clear advisory positions. Stop doing it. It's ridiculous!

"t's unAustralian, and it must stop, and I would ask people to do the right thing by each other in getting a handle on these sorts of practices."

Pharmacies have also been asked to make children's paracetamol a behind-the-counter medicine, with Ventolin and paracetamol limited to one unit per person.

In the UK, Aldi was the first supermarket to introduce rationing, with customers only allowed to buy a maximum of four of any single grocery product when visiting a store.

Several other stores have followed the move.