Victorian schools running low on toilet paper, sanitiser and soap

Victorian schools are paying the price of panic buying and hoarding, with some running low on toilet paper, soap, hand sanitiser and cleaning products.

The Victorian Education Department said more than 10,000 units of hand sanitiser would arrive this week to address the shortfalls, which are believed to be hitting government primary schools the hardest.

“The department is providing its first delivery of additional hand sanitiser to schools [on Thursday], with further deliveries to follow," a department spokeswoman said.

"The department has already secured a further 10,000 units of hand sanitiser which will be arriving Friday for distribution."

Schools should continue to try and source cleaning products through their usual channels, she said, and would be supplied by the department if unsuccessful.

The World Health Organisation says hand hygiene is "the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and prevent health care-associated infections."

Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said the supply of hygiene products was "at the top of the list" for schools working with education departments to manage the coronavirus pandemic.

“Some schools are experiencing shortages and this causes additional pressure on staff who are trying to manage the needs of their students and also keep people safe with social distancing requirements,” Ms Haythorpe said.

Footscray High School this week asked staff and families to bring their own hand sanitiser because its own stocks were getting low.

Victorian Principals Association president Anne-Maree Kliman said a principal had reported he was having to go out of the school to source more from suppliers.

NSW schools have reported similar shortages of soap, toilet paper, paper towels and hand sanitiser, with some schools not even having soap dispensers.

The country's largest supermarket chain, Woolworths, on Tuesday introduced new limits on the amount of goods each customer could buy. Chief executive Brad Banducci said panic buying meant it was effectively serving 50 million Australians, instead of 24 million.

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