London stores are selling out of hand sanitizer as shoppers seek protection against virus

London stores and pharmacies are running out of hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and alcohol gels as shoppers seek protection against a potential outbreak of novel coronavirus.

As of Monday, health authorities said the virus so far doesn't appear to be spreading locally. It came as the province reported three new cases of the virus known as COVID-19 in the Greater Toronto Area, bringing Ontario's total number of cases to 18. 

While health authorities in the London area say the risk of infection is low, that doesn't seem to be stopping shoppers from picking whatever protection they can in the form of hand sanitizers or surgical masks, causing many stores across the city to be sold out. 

"On sale or not," said an employee at a pharmacy in the Cherryhill Village Mall, "we had a whole bunch of them last week. All different sizes and now there's none. It's crazy." 

Empty shelves

At a downtown pharmacy, staff only grinned and shook their heads when asked if they had hand sanitizer or surgical masks in stock. 

At a pharmacy in Oakridge, a woman cracked a pained smile when asked the same question. 

"That's the sixth time today," she said.

At another, the answer was only four words long, as a woman counting inventory shook her head. 

"Sold out. Masks too." 

Anne Crunican is one of the hundreds of London shoppers who popped into a number of pharmacies searching for whatever means possible to protect themselves from getting sick. She's finding empty shelves instead. 

"I started on Saturday," said Crunican. "I've tried three different Shoppers Drug Marts and this is my first Rexall."

"My family owns a store. My brother can't reorder any of the products to fill a dispensing unit. He put an order in a month ago and hasn't got anything." 

Hand washing still best protection

Websites for large corporate retailers, such as Walmart, showed many hand sanitizer products out of stock. Amazon showed some product for sale, but at vastly inflated prices, such as $85.70 for two eight ounce pump bottles. 

On social media, people are trading recipes for homemade hand sanitizer online, after they found bare shelves at their local retailers. 

Many health experts say the best defence against the outbreak, or any other virus for that matter, is to wash your hands thoroughly. 

The Middlesex-London Health Unit said on its website that in order to wash your hands properly you apply a good lather of soap and scrub them for at least 20 seconds, or about the amount of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice. 

The health unit's website said alcohol hand sanitizers are effective against viruses and bacteria, but some non-alcohol hand sanitizers don't work well against a number of common germs, including the common cold. 

Aside from washing your hands, health officials from the World Health Organization recommend keeping your distance from people who are coughing and sneezing and staying home if you feel sick.