Hand sanitisers and masks, which had vanished from the shelves with the outbreak of the pandemic, are back at the pharmacies, but well-known brands are still scarce.
Three weeks into the lockdown, with a decline in panic buying, pharmacies are no longer turning away customers asking for the two products. Metrolife randomly called up pharmacies across the city, and here is what we found.
Apollo Pharmacy, Nagasandra Circle, has a stock of sanitisers but no masks. Its 250 ml bottle of inhouse brand sanitiser is available at Rs 125. The pharma chain has outlets across the city.
The pharmacy at Aster CMI Hospital is selling three-ply masks at Rs 16 a piece and sanitiser bottles at Rs 50 each (100 ml). Surgical masks are available for Rs 200 at Sri Sai Pharma, Indiranagar.
Metrolife spoke to stores on Brigade Road and Doddathogur Road and in Koramangala, and all of them confirmed they had stocks of sanitisers and masks. However, many pharmacies are selling less-known brands.
Brands such as Himalaya, Dabur and Solimo (Amazon’s in-house brand) are back in stock. Amazon, Big Basket and Flipkart have resumed deliveries, but are accepting orders only for essential items. Both masks and sanitisers qualify for delivery.
Online stores have put up notices saying deliveries take longer than usual.
Published 23 April 2020, 10:38 IST