Kerry set for Covid baby boom as test sales soar

KERRY is set for something of a corona baby boom if soaring sales of pregnancy test kits reported by at least one outlet is anything to go by.

Tralee store Dealz has reported a surge of no less than 25 per cent in sales of its pregnancy test kit since the lockdown cut loved-up couples off from the rest of the world.

The Kerry figure corroborates that seen nationally by the Dealz chain, which reported the surge this week.

Tralee Dealz manager Mike Devlin said he was pleasantly surprised when he looked up his own in-store records on foot of the reports.

“We had to laugh a little when we saw it, we recorded almost exactly the same surge of 25 per cent in sales of the testing kit,” Mike told The Kerryman.

And there were certainly no complaints from people about delays in the length of time waiting for this particular test, as Mike explained: “We still have loads in stock despite the surge in demand.

“In fact, availability has never been an issue for us here whatsoever. There’s no shortage of stock of any kind with absolutely no problems experienced with the supply chain,” Mike explained.

He said the other big sellers were, as expected, items helping to maintain hygiene and prevent transmission of the virus, from hand sanitisers and anti-bacterial wipes to liquid hand soap.

“People are also going bananas for anything relating to DIY, painting, gardening and anything to do with the outdoors as the people of Kerry strive to stay occupied in these strange times,” he said.

He thanked the store’s loyal custom base for observing all the virus measures introduced, as well as the 19-strong workforce for their brave maintenance of service.

“They had to adapt to a lot of changes, but they have been brilliant, keeping themselves and customers safe at all times.”