NEW DELHI: With the national capital in the grip of Corona fear following reports of suspected cases in the city and elsewhere, hand sanitisers and protective face masks flew off the shelves of most chemist shops as people, wary of an outbreak, resorted to panic buying.
Several drug stores across the city and NCR ran out of masks and sanitisers, as manufacturers failed to replenish depleting stocks amid a sudden spike in demand over the last couple of days.
It has been learnt that some chemist shops, which still had masks and sanitisers in stock, jacked up the prices of these items sensing a supply shortfall and soaring demand. The asking price of masks, which were earlier available at Rs 150, is now Rs 300.
“There has been a steady demand for protective masks and hand sanitisers over the last two months, since word of the Corona outbreak in China got out. However, ever since a confirmed case was reported in Delhi, there has been a sudden and significant spike in demand,” said a salesperson, who asked not to be named.
Commonly used hand sanitizers of brands such as Dettol and Himalaya are missing from shelves of many drug stores. While some have still have a few medical hand rubs, which come at bottles of different sizes, in stock, these are priced at anywhere between Rs 200 and Rs 600.
“We are not getting supplies of the popular brands and whatever we still have in stock are literally flying off the shelves,” said a salesperson at another chemist shop. While conceding to “panic buying”, another salesperson said it’s not as if these items aren’t available in the market at all.
“Though we have run out of sanitizers, if you give us a couple of hours we can get you the item,” he said.