Shortages previously limited to anti-bacterial hand gel and hand soap have spread to cupboard items such as rice, pasta, couscous, Pot Noodles, bottled water, toilet roll and pet food - as well as chilled items including milk, butter and yoghurt.
Pharmacy shelves are also emptying of paracetamol, ibuprofen and immune-system boosting tablets such as Berocca as people prepare to fight off the flu-like illness that has claimed hundreds of lives worldwide.
Facebook and Twitter is packed with photographs of empty shelves from major supermarkets across the UK where shoppers appear to have thrown empty boxes into the aisles in the mad scramble for items.
MailOnline readers have also shared pictures of their well-stocked larders as people prepare for weeks in isolation.
One reader said: 'I have been trying for THREE days to buy pasta but I cannot see any as most shops have run out of pasta and pasta sauce'.
The scramble for food has also revealed what Britons do not consider essentials despite a China-style shutdown of communities predicted - including some flavours of crisps and confectionary including Terry's Chocolate Orange.
Londoner Jasia Warren tweeted: 'Interesting to see what people are stockpiling in my local supermarket. Bare shelves for rice, pasta, handwash, tissues and loo roll. Also interesting to see what people are not stockpiling: polenta, crumpets and get well cards. Their loss is my gain. #stockpiling'.
As stockpiling is on the increase, MailOnline can reveal:
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