Hand sanitizers disappear from markets

Staff Reporter Published: 9 March 2020, 04:37 PM | Updated: 9 March 2020, 04:43 PM
Hand sanitizers disappear from markets

After the news of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh broke, demand of face masks and hand sanitizers has soared and these started to disappear from the wholesale markets in city.

Visiting several city wholesale markets, this reporter did found no hand sanitizer there. 

Traders said the item was sold out by Sunday night. But fresh supplies may come to market this afternoon or within Tuesday morning, they added.

The Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) on Sunday disclosed that three people in Bangladesh tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). 

It also advised people to wash hands with soap or alcoholic sanitizer to protect themselves from infection of coronavirus. Since then, people started rushing to drug stores, super shops and so on to buy hand sanitizers.

This reporter went to sanitary product's wholesale market in Old Dhaka's Chawkbazar on Monday morning but did not find hand sanitizer at least 30 shops.

Sanitizers of different brands like Savlon, Dettole, Sepnil, and Almer are popular to the people but all these were not available in the market.The same situation in Mitford pharmacies

The proprietor of Becharam Deuri Lira-Nipa Pharmacy, Shah Alam told Jago News that they don't get hand sanitizer from any manufacturer but Incepta Pharmaceuticals told them to supply its product Sanitizer Hand Rub by this afternoon or night. 

IEDCR today in its regular press briefing said that no new case of coronavirus infection was reported. 

The three patients with coronavirus patients have recently returned from Italy, the worst-hit European country with new deaths 133.    

The novel coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak, and later spread to more than 100 countries across the globe. So far, the virus claimed 3,816 lives and infected 109,888 people globally, according to South China Morning Post. 

Panic earlier gripped people of Bangladesh when neighbour India recorded its first coronavirus case on January, and as of Monday the country's total number of COVID-19 reached 43, according reports of The Hindu.