As a supermarket worker, last week started out like any other.

I woke up, put the kettle on, and turned on the TV to listen to the news.

That's when I first heard about the coronavirus.

I knew it was bad.

Reports showed time-lapse videos of a hospital being built in China in 10 days.

You don't just do that for the sniffles.

But back then, it never crossed my mind it would affect my own life.

When I drove in to work on Monday March 10, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Sure, it was a little busier than normal — the type of busy you get in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

But, as the week progressed, things turned ugly.

The frontline

By Sunday March 15, the supermarket felt like a warzone.

When I got in, instead of the usual "How was your weekend?" from the boss, he greeted me with "I'm exhausted".

"We just weren't expecting them to hit us like that over the weekend."

The shelves were so empty I could see straight through six aisles.

Toilet paper, rice, pasta, flour, frozen veggies, soap, meats — everywhere you looked, gone.

The question on everyone's minds at work: Why are they buying everything?

One customer summed it up: "Because everyone else is."

Trollies were charging down aisles.

People were literally fighting over olive oil.

At one of our stores, I heard reports of a woman getting assaulted over a packet of flour.

That's uncommon in the kind of country towns I've lived and worked in.

But that's the level things are getting to.

'People seem to think we're to blame'

We were being bombarded daily with abuse from the public.

They were talking to us like we weren't even human.

It's taking its toll on everyone, but some more than others.

Emily*, one of the girls who restocks the shelves, would go to the back of the store, cry, then collect herself before going back out again.

Comments like "Why haven't you got this or that here yet?" or "Tell them to send another truck" or "Can you hurry up?" — they really get to you.

Some people do say thank you. They tell us it's not our fault and that we're doing a good job.

Those people do lift you up a bit, but when you've been copping it for a while, it's hard to keep a smile on your face.

People seem to think we're to blame for the little stock on shelves and for the longer-than-usual wait at the checkout.

I wish they could understand there's nothing we can do about it.

We can't replenish supplies faster than people are demanding them.

Staff are working under so much pressure to quickly restock shelves as supplies arrive.

We just don't currently have the staff.

This all hit us so fast.

It's not me I'm worried about

The coronavirus has taken a toll on our most vulnerable citizens.

My concern is they're going to get lost in all of this.

They're not getting what they need.

I saw an elderly lady in the toilet paper aisle, frightened she was going to get knocked over.

No-one seemed to care.

That sort of thing breaks your heart.

I took her aside and found her some toilet paper that was stashed out the back for someone else.

To help, our stores put in place hours where we exclusively sell to the elderly and people with a disability.

And when I saw the long line of people coming into the store in the morning, they were very appreciative.

We're employees, not the enemy

We've been told to restrict how much we can sell you.

Two packets for about 25 different high-demand items.

Things like toilet paper, mince, flour, pasta, and milk.

It turns out people don't like being limited to buying two packs of anything.

Calling out customers isn't comfortable.

Everyone pleads their case: "I need it, I have a big family."

And you truly empathise, but when you say "I'm sorry, there's a sales restriction", it doesn't go down well.

The thing is the cash register won't let us scan more than what each customer is permitted to take.

It's not to stop you from getting food.

It's to make sure as many people can have something rather than nothing.

I've been around for a while. But it's these kids, some of them school-aged, who are copping the brunt of the abuse.

They're being blamed for something they have no control over.

We're in this just as much as everyone else is.

*Names have been changed for privacy.