They say there is plenty in the city, including Ventolin for those with asthma, to go around and especially to people who need it most.

Children's paracetamol is now being sold behind pharmacy counters while asthma medication is limited to one purchase per person to stop coronavirus hoarding.

This comes under new measures from Australia's deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly who said people were unnecessarily stockpiling crucial medications.

Professor Kelly said there had been no indication from suppliers of a looming shortage in the nation's medicine supplies.

One Ballarat woman posted her frustration and fear in struggling to find a chemist with Ventolin after she had run out. The woman wrote she had been ringing pharmacies for help and in desperation made a shout out via a public group on Facebook.

A pharmacist at Direct Chemist Outlet in Delacombe Town Centre said that while children's Panadol was in short supply across town, Ventolin was available under health department rules. The pharmacy also had some paracetamol for children (one month to one year).

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