Avoid panic-buying sanitisers in bulk: City pharmacists

Madurai: With the first COVID-19 case reported in Tamil Nadu at Chennai on Saturday, public and health officials are on alert across the state for possible spread of infection.
In light of the COVID-19 breakout in India, many pharmacies and departmental stores in the city said that the sale of hand sanitizers and hand wash solutions has shown a distinctive rise during the past month.Pharmacists are now urging the public to not panic-buy such items in bulk which could lead to a shortage.
The most effective way to prevent the spread of any viral infection, including COVID-19, is practising hand hygiene and cough etiquette. “It was surprising for us because hardly 10% of people in the city buy sanitizers and hand wash solutions. But, during the past month, there has been an increase in sales. Cheaper brands are getting sold out quickly and many individuals are even buying it in bulk as well,” said a pharmacist from Kamarajar Salai. The pharmacist added that they have had to get more orders for sanitizers from different brands to keep up.
“Certainly there has been an increase in sales and we found some people buying even 500 ml containers which were mostly left unsold before. There is no threat of shortage yet but definitely demand has increased,” said a salesperson at a departmental store in Anna Nagar. Apart from sanitizers, pharmacists said that retail sales of masks had shown a marginal increase too.
“It is better to be safe than sorry. We had not paid much attention to getting sanitizers before but it would be foolish now to ignore precautions. We have young children at home too,” said Shanti A, resident of KK Nagar.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association general secretary, KK Selvan urged the public to remain vigilant but not buy sanitizers or masks in bulk. “Manufacturers are unable to match the orders required, as there is a sudden demand and it is not possible to import too. So, the public should exercise good judgment and take precautions as and when necessary instead of stocking up. Irresponsibly buying it in bulk can cause a shortage and those who really need it will suffer,” he said.