Coronavirus drives up sales of masks and rubber gloves

Asian pharmacies and health supply stores are selling out of surgical face masks as officials work to contain the deadly Wuhan coronavirus that has killed 17 people. 

Online retailers, including Alibaba-owned Taobao, and e-commerce site JD.com, the largest retailer in China, were sold out of 3M surgical masks Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Guardian pharmacy, which has about 115 locations in Singapore, said its mask sales quadrupled over the past two weeks, according to The Straits Times, an English-language publication based in Singapore. Hand sanitizer and thermometer sales also tripled over the same period. 

At least two locations of Watson’s, China’s biggest health and beauty chain, were sold out of surgical masks Monday, according to the same report. 

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An employee at a Beike Drug Store in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated, said demand for the protective masks has surged since the viral outbreak. “Today we’ve sold out all the single-use masks, and I need to prepare for tomorrow’s supply,” the worker, who wasn’t identified, told Reuters.

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways on Tuesday said it would permit cabin crew to wear surgical masks while operating mainland China flights. The airline was also providing face masks and antiseptic wipes to passengers traveling from Wuhan to Hong Kong. 

Most Asian markets fell Wednesday as investors worried that the outbreak’s rising death count would depress tourism and economic activity in China, but the stock prices of some companies that sell face masks and rubber gloves rose as public officials enforced safety precautions at airports and other high-traffic facilities. 

Shares of Malaysia-based Top Glove Corp., the world’s largest maker of rubber gloves, rose, as did shares of Malaysia’s Hartalega Holdings, Kossan Rubber Industries and Supermax Corp.

In the U.S., shares of Novavax jumped 60% on Tuesday after the drugmaker said it is working on a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus.