Face masks, hand sanitizers and head masks are now scarce in most supermarkets and pharmacy shops in Lagos state as the Nigerian government on Friday confirmed the first Coronavirus case in the state.
A visit to most pharmacy shops and supermarkets on Lagos mainland areas such as Surulere, Ikeja, Agege and Ogba by our reporters on Friday shows that the products were bought off the shelfs early Friday morning by residents in the respective areas. When our reporters visited major marts such as Shoprite, Spar, Medplus, Healthrite – all located in Adeniran Ogunsanya Mall in Surulere area of the state, none has hand sanitizer and facemask as early as 9:47am today.
A shop attendant at the mall, who craved anonymity, told our reporters that people came in as early as 8am when the mall opened and bought off every sanitizers and masks available.
A Pharmacist at D2 Pharmacy and Supermarts located off Akilo Road in Ogba also confided in Daily Trust that the products were all bought off shelf this morning around 11:00am when our reporters visited. “We have notified our head office to get more supplies of the products from their manufacturers so as to make them available to residents. You can drop your contact so I can call you whenever we have new supplies of the products,” the attendant told one of our reporters.
Other major supermarkets and pharmacy stores visited in Ikeja and Agege areas of the state no longer have the products in stock as well. However, our reporters observed that most Lagos residents now go about their daily activities with hand sanitizers and few wore face masks, just as they try to avoid crowd contacts in most areas visited today. Don’t panic! Debunking eleven myths about Coronavirus Our reporters also observed that some private schools, offices and restaurants, among others are also ensuring both staff and visitors get their hands sanitized before gaining entrance. Some restaurants have gone as far as creating hand washing and sanitizing corner, all in a bid to be safe from being infected. Some residents have also been sighted with hand gloves and nose masks as they continue to live in fear of contracting the disease.
Meanwhile the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has assured Nigerians, that with appropriate information, treatment and precautions, Nigeria will beat COVID19 like Ebola.
