Virus fears see hand sanitiser, masks sell out
Supplies of hand sanitiser are running low among fears of coronavirus hitting New Zealand.
Antoinette Laird, head of corporate affairs for supermarket owner Foodstuffs NZ, said demand for antibacterial products had increased significantly around the world since the outbreak of coronavirus.
‘‘Locally, we are seeing sales spike for hand sanitiser, hand wash, antiseptic liquid, face masks and antibacterial wipes, and some stores might already be out of stock of some of these products,’’ she said.
‘‘We are working closely with suppliers as they look to source more stock to meet this growing international demand.’’
Internationally, face mask suppliers were prioritising sending product to the highest-risk countries and provinces, Laird said. ‘‘As a result, customers may see limited supplies of face masks in New Zealand for the time being.’’
Hand sanitiser was labelled out of stock on the online shopping sites of Countdown, Office Max and Pharmacy Direct yesterday. Face masks were out of stock on Office Max.
A salesperson at Pharmville Queen Street Pharmacy in Auckland said it had run out of small bottles of hand sanitiser, and she was unsure when they could be back in stock. ‘‘They came back on order but sold out straight away.’’
The pharmacy had face masks in stock but had to limit sales to five per person, she said.
A Countdown spokesperson said there had been an increase in demand for face masks, and stores with pharmacies had limited supply, but it was working with suppliers to get more stock.
‘‘We’ve also seen some increased demand for hand sanitiser, so we’ve placed a limit of two on hand sanitisers per customer.’’