Ghaziabad faces shortage of masks, sanitisers amid COVID-19 scare

There is a huge shortage of branded sanitisers and masks in the market as suppliers and companies are not able to meet the demand in view of coronavirus scare.

The sanitiser priced at Rs 75 but is being sold for Rs 150 in the local market. The N95 masks are being sold for Rs 500 instead of Rs 200. Some pharmacists have stopped selling N95 masks due to an increase in prices.

"We've stopped selling N95 masks as the whole sellers are selling these to us at higher prices. If we ask customers for more money, they fight with us," said Ranjan Saraf, a pharmacist.

"Since the demand for N95 masks is high, there aren't enough masks available in the market. Even sanitisers of common brands aren't available right now," said Viren Ahuja, a pharmacist.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic', which has spread to over 100 countries and have hit nearly 120,000 people worldwide. In India, 84 people have been tested positive for coronavirus in India so far.