Coronavirus concerns see hand sanitiser sales leap 255 per cent
Coronavirus fears saw sales of hand sanitiser spike 255 per cent in February, according to supermarket data released today.
Sakes of liquid soaps also rose seven per cent as shoppers hit the shelves as the number of coronavirus cases outside China rose sharply last month, research firm Kantar said.
Sales of household cleaners jumped 10 per cent as the number of UK cases entered double figures and Italy experienced a surge of new hundreds of cases towards the end of February.
“Given the media focus around the outbreak of Covid-19 in February, it’s unsurprising to see shoppers prudently protecting themselves from illness,” Fraser Mc Kevitt, head of retail and consumer insight, said.
A number of Boots stores have imposed limits on hand sanitiser sales amid a stock shortage as Brits attempt to protect themselves from the coronavirus outbreak.
Some branches have reportedly imposed a two-bottle limit on customers, according to the Mirror.
One sign in a High Street, Kensington Boots store said: “Due to high demand we are only selling two hand sanitisers per person. Sorry for any inconvenience.”
The figures came amid stockpiling fears as Boris Johnson prepares to outline the UK’s plan to combat a further rise in UK coronavirus cases.
And consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser last week said sales of Dettol had soared since the coronavirus outbreak began at the turn of 2020.
Saying it had not been tested against the coronavirus, Reckitt added: “We would expect our Dettol products…to be effective against the new strain.”
The Prime Minister is expected to reveal government measures to tackle the coronavirus crisis that include:
- Discouraging people from using public transport
- Urging employers to let staff work from home
- Coaxing doctors and nurses out of retirement
- Nominating a minister for each department to be in charge of Covid-19 plans
The current total of UK Covid-19 cases is 39, after four new cases emerged yesterday.
Most British cases of the coronavirus contracted it from infection hot spots like Italy and Iran, or from people who have been to such hotspots. But the UK has counted two cases where the patients have not recently travelled.
Johnson has warned of a “significant expansion” in the number of UK coronavirus cases.