Panicked residents have raided stocks of hand sanitiser and pharmacists are considering introducing rationing amid coronavirus fears.
An Islington Now investigation has revealed that local pharmacies have run out of hand sanitiser bottles and most have exhausted their supplies of face masks as residents scramble to protect themselves from coronavirus.
Shops consider limit hand sanitiser perchase
On Wednesday, just one of ten pharmacists had any alcohol sanitiser, but it was a 500ml liquid version, with no pharmacists having any pocket-sized gels. One pharmacist still had face masks.
WC & K King Pharmacy on Amwell Street said: “We can’t get any at all from any suppliers. They are totally out of stock, so we’ve had to turn away customers. We’ve spoken to four or five [suppliers] and none have had any hand sanitiser of any brand.”
Turnbulls Chemist, on Essex Road, admitted demand for hand sanitiser had skyrocketed in their shop, with as many as “one in two people asking for it – in some cases, we get two or three at the same time asking for it!”. Their advice was for people to remain “sensible and be as clean as possible”.
With such high demand, prices may rise in the borough if wholesalers decide to change their prices. Dermacia Pharmacy, on Upper Street, said: “It depends on what wholesalers are charging. We’d have to raise prices if they did.”
Savemain Pharmacy, on Essex Road, added, “If their (supplier) prices go through the roof, then they will cost more”.
Some shops said that rather than raising prices, they would limit the quantity of products purchased per customer.
Everywhere is sold out of #handgel #handsanitizer so why not make your own? #CoronaOutbreak #CoronaAlert #coronavirus https://t.co/gWVOe8V51c pic.twitter.com/KP3KOSoSNE
— Peter Sear (@EmpathicSpaces) March 4, 2020
Clockwork Pharmacy & Travel Vaccination Clinic, on Caledonian Road, is the one pharmacy with any sanitiser left. They said: “Prices will remain the same. It wouldn’t be ethically right. We just need to make sure there’s a quota on how many can be bought per person, which would make it fair and give an equal chance for everybody to get products”.
Chain stores have taken a similar stance, with Superdrug telling Islington Now: “Prices will be the same, just the quantity of how many can be bought per customer will be monitored”.
Some pharmacies hoped to have restocked by Thursday but others said they may not get fresh deliveries “for at least another few weeks, or maybe even months”.
Savemain Pharmacy is expecting “face masks on Thursday or Friday, with hand sanitiser expected early next week”.
Schools taking action
Other organisations around Islington have been taking their own measures against the epidemic, including City University of london. The Student Union said there have been “no cases so far, and there is a task team working hard on student and academic services”.
Read more: Coronavirus: Islington Schools on ‘high alert’
Meanwhile, Arsenal Football Club has abandoned traditional pre-match handshakes, replacing them with fist bumps.
