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Amidst mounting concerns over the coronavirus, several shops in Dubai are experiencing a shortage of rubbing alcohol.
A quick check with the pharmacies and grocery outlets in the city showed that the disinfecting solution with 70 percent alcohol is exceedingly hard to come by.
“We regret to inform you that for alcohol, we are out of stock. We only have gel sanitizers,” said a sales staff at one of the big pharmacy chains in the country.
“It’s sold out. You can’t find it in any of our branches across the UAE. We started to run out of stocks a few days ago. We already placed an order, but there’s no update on the shipments yet,” another pharmacy told Zawya.
Retailers attribute the shortage to frenzied demand caused by fears over coronavirus. However, they assured that new stocks are coming to meet unprecedented demand.
“There is a shortage due to it being used as a surface cleaner. [As to when the items will be replenished, I] cannot give an exact date and time of delivery due to the shortage of stock,” Jose Sreedharan, COO of Aster Pharmacy, told Zawya.
He, however, pointed out that stocks are limited but have not completely run out, so the items are being distributed in "limited quantities."
“[Alcohol is] in great demand, hence [it keeps disappearing] from the shelves at a faster pace. We are contacting the manufacturers to give us more stocks. We are also contacting new suppliers for this product,” added Kamal Vachani, group director of Almaya.
The liquid disinfectant has been one of the bestselling products in the market, along with protective face masks, detergents and gel-based santisers, since the coronavirus exploded in China and fanned across the globe.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that consumers should use alcohol solutions with at least 70 percent alcohol to disinfect and protect themselves against the spread of coronavirus.
Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) had earlier confirmed that there is enough supply of detergents and sanitizers in the local supermarkets. Surgical masks, however, remain unavailable in most stores.
As of Tuesday, the number of coronavirus infections has reached more than 180,000, causing panic among consumers and investors worldwide. The virus is impacting economies across the globe, with the numerous flight restrictions and lockdowns estimated to cause businesses billions in lost revenues.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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