Coronavirus concerns: Shelves emptied of face masks, sanitizer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The threat of the new coronavirus is so alarming that many stores such as CVS and Walgreens -- which usually carry hand sanitizer, Lysol and protective masks -- are either running low or completely out of stock.

News4Jax on Monday went to several stores, where there were virtually empty shelves that once displayed face masks.

The CVS and Walgreens at the corner of University Boulevard and St. Augustine Road are both known to carry medical supplies, but the stores’ shelves were either completely empty or nearly empty of face masks and sanitizer.

At the Walgreens store, spray disinfectant was down to a bare minimum while shelves advertising disinfecting wipes were completely empty. It was the same for the shelf that was supposed to display protective masks. Not one mask available to purchase. Across the street at the CVS, disinfecting wipes were dwindling down, but shelves advertising protective masks were completely empty. Shopper Roland Scott, a Jacksonville resident, said the coronavirus is a real problem that everyone needs to prepare for because there are so many unknowns about the virus.

“They don’t know how it’s transferred -- through the air, by touch," Scott said. “They haven’t pinned it down yet.”

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Fear of the unknown associated with the virus and the desire to prevent getting sick from the virus are causing people to rack up on sanitary products and face masks. That same fear and desire are helping stores such as Proctor Ace Hardware turn a good profit.

“We sold more than $3,000 worth of mask in the last two weeks," said store manager Ashley Capo, who added that they’re now limiting purchases to only two masks. “Because someone purchased more than $1,500 worth of masks by themselves."

And Capo said the maks have been flying off the shelves.

“We had three end caps full, up and down with no other mask but the N95, and we sold all of them in a matter of three weeks," Capo said. "We had 30 at the beginning of the day and now we are down to this.”

That batch of 30 was a new shipment that arrived Monday morning. Capo said there’s a reason why the N95s are more popular than the conventional dust mask.

“The N95s lasts eight hours per mask and the dust mask only lasts about an hour, so these are way better," Capo said. “We have people who come in who are traveling. They bought two packs. One to get them there and one to get them back.”

The manager says what was left of the N95s will most likely sell out Tuesday. The same goes for the remaining sanitizer located below the masks.

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The manager also told News4Jax that she has a friend currently in China who is begging her to ship some masks her way because the shortage of masks is so great in China that people who have access to unused masks are selling those masks at $40 apiece.


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