Pharmacies running out of masks, sanitizes; prices stacked up

Quantity of surgical masks and sanitizers have been running low in the pharmacies across the country as a suspected case for the Coronavirus was identified in the Maldives last night.

The virus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China has now spread across the world and has bee4n declared as a global emergency by the World Health Organization last night. After the authorities announced the suspected case in the Maldives last night, surgical masks and sanitizers in pharmacies were quickly sold out as people queued up.

Many people complained regarding the lack of masks and the fact that such items were being sold on a limited basis.

“Only a few pharmacies had masks last night. Most places had run dry while others had raised the price on such items.” said a person who called “Sun”.

A mask was sold for MVR 3 before, but prices suddenly increased from that amount to MVR 5 to MVR 10 in one night. Pharmacists also stated that the demand for masks had increased last night and that some resorts in the country had bought masks and sanitizers in bulk quantity, leading to shortages.

“The stock we brought in yesterday is now sold out. We are now selling from the few stocks we have in go-downs.” said a pharmacist. 

Health Minister Abdulla Ameen has previously stated that STO had assured that the country had enough masks for such a situation.

The situation with pharmacies is not distinct to the Maldives as countries across Asia are also facing shortages due to the high demand. While a case tested positive for the disease is yet to be found in the Maldives, citizens are already taking precautionary steps against the disease that has killed around 200 and infected more than 10,000 worldwide.