Colin Glenn, 83, searched in vain all morning to find masks, with many of Wagga's pharmacies and grocery shops having been fully cleared out.

Mr Glenn said he desperately needed a mask in order to board the train, which is enforcing a mandatory mask policy.

"I'm going to Melbourne shortly and I'll be going train part of the way and probably a bus part of the way from Albury to Melbourne," Mr Glenn said.

"I think it's terribly important we observe mask requirements."

The new restrictions dashed the study plans of Charles Sturt University student Darcy Graham, who will now have to return to distance learning for the foreseeable future.

"I was coming to Wagga from Canberra. I arrived yesterday and I heard about the news about the afternoon, so now I have to go back," Darcy said.

"I had some classes to do at CSU, I'm studying Wiradjuri language."

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Foodworks Lake Albert owner Rodney Porter said masks had been in high demand at this shop, so much so that they would probably run out at the end of the day.

He has also put a one toilet paper packet per transaction restriction at his store to prevent panic buying.

Mr Porter said he saw less panic buying behaviour this time around, with shoppers having grown used to living in a pandemic.

"I think they know from last year that as long as we don't panic and do what we normally do, we've got no worries about running out," Mr Porter said.

"Just keep a cool head and do what you normally do, shopping wise, and everybody will be fine."

Blooms The Chemist owner Claire Robertson said they still had some masks left over from the last lockdown, but would be receiving another shipment on Tuesday to bolster their rapidly dwindling supply.

"We had a lot of stock from when it was previously it was a requirement, but we've placed a few more on order so we don't run out," Ms Robertson said.

Coles and Woolworths have also put limitations on toilet paper purchases per transaction in a bid to stymy panic buying.

However, by noon Sturt Mall's Coles toilet paper shelves were already showing signs of panic buying as stocks depleted.

Sturt Mall Coles' mask supplies had run out entirely by mid morning.

The drive-through COVID clinic at Wagga beach was jam packed on Sunday. At its peak, the traffic snaked all the way down the road and past the Saint Michael's Cathedral on Johnston Street

Big4 Holiday Parks owner Martin Cotterell said many travellers were forced to cut their holidays short and beat a hasty retreat back to their hometowns.

"We've had quite a large number of cancellations, people that had bookings from Sydney, Illawara, Newcastle," Mr Cotterell said.

"Other than the masks we haven't changed anything [at the park], to be quite honest, because we've been operating under COVID rules for a long time now. We're well-practised at this point."

Wagga resident Jillian Bell said she was more than happy to put up with wearing a mask if it meant limiting the spread of coronavirus.

Ms Bell said she already had a stock of masks back at home, and that she was not at all surprised by this new raft of restrictions.

"They're appropriate, given the circumstances. I'm happy to play a small part in trying to keep the community safe," Ms Bell said.

"It's just part of the world we live in now."

The sudden announcement caught Wagga mother Natalie Adams by surprise.

"I had to race and get face masks for all my family because I wasn't very prepared," she said.

"Yesterday I had to buy toilet paper and I was concerned people thought I was panic-buying when I wasn't."

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