DEMAND FOR SANITISERS AND MASKS SKYROCKETS
NEW DELHI: Amid the Coronavirus alarm in the national Capital, the sale of face masks, sanitisers and gloves have spiked. Residents of different areas of the city have claimed that sanitisers including masks are scarce in shops and hospitals.
According to latest data, the demand for these protective products have skyrocketed to over 500 per cent in the last 15 days, compared to the previous 2 weeks.
An online market seller said, “In the last 15 days, the demand for sanitisers has increased by 559 per cent; face mask has increased by 334 per cent; hand wash has increased by 81 per cent; and disposable gloves have increased by 66 percent. Apart from the three major cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru — the demand has also surged in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Gurugram, Surat, Pune, Srinagar, etc.”
As Delhi witnessed one death due to Coronavirus, a panic like situation has taken over. “I went to a nearby store to buy sanitisers and they were not available. I had to buy a non-brand product out of desperation,” said Alia, a resident of Dwarka.
This has given major players to come forward and work on supplying the product to equalise the demand. A medical shopkeeper in Khajuri Khas has said that almost everyday the stock of sanitisers is fully sold till afternoon. “I have to call my guy almost everyday and ask for the supplies,” he added.
Speaking on the demand, he said that there is a major rise in the manufacturing and export of personal protective equipment as people rush to medical stores to get their hands on either N95 or surgical face masks to protect themselves from the threat of Coronavirus.
“The major demand is witnessed from Indian cities and mostly for reselling purposes. Along with the mask, the demand for mask making machines has also surged by 250 percent,” he added.