KELSEY WILKIE and JACKSON BARRON
5 February 2020
DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Demand for face masks and hand sanitiser increased amid coronavirus outbreak
Many chemists have sold out of the product, others have jacked the price up
A chemist in Sydney’s Top Ryde was spotted selling a 50 pack of masks for $400
People concerned about contracting the deadly coronavirus may have to fork out hundreds of dollars for face masks as demand for the medical supplies continues to rise.
A chemist in Sydney’s Top Ryde had jacked up the price of a box of 50 face masks this week to $400 a pack – more than four times the usual price.
They aren’t the only ones cashing in on the outbreak as bystanders took a picture of a man selling individual face masks for $10, or 12 masks for $100.
They are usually sold for $5 for one or $110 for 50.
The high prices come as many chemists and pharmacies around the country have been left with bare shelves amid fears of contracting coronavirus.
Images from Chemist Warehouse’s store in Chatswood have shown several rows of empty shelves in recent weeks.
A representative from Chemist Warehouse Chatswood told Daily Mail Australia they had no face masks and hand sanitiser in store on Thursday last week, and they didn’t know when more stock would become available.
‘Masks have been in really high demand,’ the representative said.
‘Since the beginning of January, the masks have been in short supply.’
Face mask sales initially increased amid poor air quality and during the smokey conditions through Australia’s terrible bushfire season, causing wholesalers to run out of supplies.
Chatswood Chemist Warehouse received their last delivery of face masks in the beginning of January and have since run out, and have been trying to order more every day to keep up with customers demand.
The representative said ‘every five minutes’ customers are asking when they will get more stock, and that their suppliers had began to run out of product.
Chemist Warehouse, in Chatswood, stock ten different brands of hand sanitiser, and all of them are vacant from their shelves.
Their last delivery of hand sanitisers lasted less than one day, with the entire shipment of stock being sold out in one morning.
In addition, Bunnings hardware stores were either sold out of P2 and N95 masks or quickly running out of stock.
There are already 13 people in Australia who have been diagnosed with coronavirus, which has killed 362 worldwide and threatens to become a global pandemic.
The highly-contagious virus has infected more than 17,000 people worldwide.
It has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Australia citizens trapped in Wuhan have now been evacuated and have landed on Christmas Island, where they will enter a quarantine for 14 days.
It is understood that 72 people were on board the first of four charter flights expected to take more than 240 evacuees to the Indian Ocean island.
The Airbus left Western Australia’s RAAF Base Learmonth, near Exmouth, on Monday night, and touched down on Christmas Island about 9pm local time.
Those on board were among the 243 who had earlier been evacuated from Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus, on a Qantas flight.
Daily Mail Australian has contacted Priceline and Chemist Warehouse for comment.
Subscribe to our free mailing list and always be the first to receive the latest news and updates.