Mad rush for masks, sanitisers

On a day when Hyderabad woke up to the fact of one person testing positive for the COVID-19, there was a run on the stocks of protective masks, gloves and hand sanitisers. “The N95 mask prices have doubled. The new price is ₹ 80. Nationally, the demand has jumped seven-fold from 10 crore masks to 70 crore masks,” said the representative of a Mumbai-based company manufacturing surgical products including masks.

In the city, the availability of masks was patchy with many medical stores having run out of N95 stocks and the price of surgical masks varying according to the area. In the pharmacies near Gandhi Hospital it was ₹ 10, near Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences it was ₹ 5, and in Madhapur area it was ₹ 20. Incidentally, Telangana government distributed seven lakh masks during the four-day Medaram Jatara, according to a State official who coordinated the distribution.

While some citizens appeared nonchalant about the threat from the virus that has instilled fear among millions, others wanted more pragmatic steps from the government. “I am sure the officials concerned may have already begun to take appropriate actions, as evidenced by proactive screenings at the airports etc., and also attempts to trace out those who were in physical proximity of those testing positive. It would be good if the government engages in extensive confidence-building measures regarding precautions that citizens can take as well as measures being undertaken by the governments themselves,” said Pramod Reddy, a lawyer.

On Tuesday, the State government has pushed a matter-of-fact poster about the virus and the symptoms of the disease on multiple social media platforms. This adds to the corpus of information released by the World Health Organisation other organisations about how to slow down the spread of the disease.

On the ground, there were pockets of awareness amidst a sea of indifference. In the area around Gandhi Hospital, almost everyone from police officials to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation civic workers to the staff at the pharmacies could be seen wearing the masks. In contrast, in the surrounding areas of NIMS which has two arterial roads on either side, very few patients, visitors or staffers could be seen wearing masks. “Yesterday we bought a stock of 30 bottles of hand-sanitiser, now we are left with only five. We never sold so many in such short time,” said Ravi, a pharmacist at the Generic Medical Store near NIMS.