The coronavirus outbreak has people panicking all over the world. As a result, everyday items have been flying off store shelves as people begin to stock up on things such as dry goods, hand sanitizer, and, of course, lots (and LOTS) of toilet paper. It's for this reason that two young girls from Far North Queensland, Australia, have won over the hearts of the internet this week. They used their tooth fairy money to deliver toilet paper to one community that's been hit the hardest during the outbreak: the elderly.
Six-year-old Addyson McGuire reportedly thought of the idea recently when she was shopping with her mom.
Addyson's mom, Petrina McGuire, told the Daily Mail that they were walking through the toilet paper aisle of an Australian supermarket on Friday when her daughter noticed there were only few rolls of toilet paper left.
The young girl was upset to learn the reason behind the shortage -- that people were stocking up over fears about the encroaching coronavirus.
Shortly after, Addyson had an idea that touched her mother's heart.
"Addyson asked if she could buy some [toilet paper and tissues] to hand out to those that may have missed out using money she had saved from the tooth fairy," her mother shared.
Her mother said yes, and along with her 4-year-old friend Lucy, Addyson decided to go door-to-door to hand out the items to those in need.
That same day, Petrina shared a photo of the two girls on Facebook, walking side by side while pulling a wagon filled with paper goods.
"Loaded with toilet paper and tissues they purchased with pocket money and are walking around pensioner cottages seeing if they need any," Petrina wrote in the post's caption.
It didn't take long for the photo to go viral. In fact, to date it has more than 5,000 shares.
McGuire says all of the people they visited that day were thankful for the random act of kindness.
"The pensioners loved having them knock on the door and ask if they would like some as the shops run out. … some people needed some and were very grateful," the mom told the Daily Mail.
Addyson's good deed even inspired some to respond with kind gestures of their own.
One woman offered the girls a bag of "fairy crystals" in exchange for toilet paper. And another man brought some toilet paper to a man across the street who had been unwell and couldn't stock up on his own.
The mom said she merely wanted to share the photo as a beacon of positivity amid an otherwise dark time.
"There has been so much negativity lately and just wanted to share something positive," McGuire told the Daily Mail.
Indeed, panic over the coronavirus has been causing a lot of unrest within Australia, as well as the rest of the world. France 24 reported that on Friday, fights broke out in several Australian supermarkets as people scrambled to stockpile toilet paper. The altercations came shortly after news reports stated that 59 cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed in the country. As of March 11, that number has risen to 112 confirmed cases throughout the country, the Australian Government Department of Health website stated.
But civil unrest hasn't been happening just in Australia. There have been reports of similar fights in Japan and even in the United States, where the current number of confirmed cases stands at nearly 1,000, CNN reported. The number of confirmed cases worldwide, meanwhile, is estimated to exceed 115,800.
Hopefully, messages of hope, like the one Petrina McGuire is spreading, will win out as tensions begin to mount. Her daughter's story certainly offers a lesson in kindness and goodwill — one that many of us could learn from now that anxieties are riding high.
