Yesterday, The Barbados Advocate visited a number of retailers in the St. Michael area and in Bridgetown and found that many businesses are out of stock of the hand hygiene product.
If Barbadians are trying to purchase a bottle of hand sanitiser, they should not be surprised that many local stores do not have any of the product on their shelves.
Yesterday, The Barbados Advocate visited a number of retailers in the St. Michael area and in Bridgetown and found that many businesses are out of stock of the hand hygiene product.
In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic and increasing reports of the novel coronavirus in neighbouring Caribbean territories, Barbadians are taking precautions by stocking up on products to keep their hands clean and sterile.
Yesterday morning, most shoppers would only find hand wipes available, with some desperate shoppers picking up bottles of (isopropyl) alcohol to sanitise their hands and personal space.
The Barbados Advocate also reached out to distributors of personal care and health products and was told that they have reordered, but are unable to say when they will be in stock.
Precautions
In Bridgetown, some retailers have responded to the news of COVID-19 in the region by placing hand sanitiser dispensers at the entrance of stores, while some cashiers are wearing gloves while conducting transactions.
According to Centres for Disease and Prevention Control (CDC), to avoid contracting COVID-19 people are advised to “wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing [your] nose, coughing, or sneezing, going to the bathroom, and before eating or preparing food; avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands; stay home when sick and cover [your] cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.”
According to the CDC, alcohol-based hand sanitisers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitisers do not eliminate all types of germs. The international health organisation is suggesting that washing hands with soap and water is more effective at removing specific germs. The CDC added that if soap and water are not available, it is important to use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser that contains at least 60 per cent alcohol.