The number of people buying hand sanitisers has risen 1,044% so far in February, when compared to the November-January period, online pharmacy Medino has reported.

The top five locations for hand sanitiser demand were London, Brighton, Cambridge, Luton and Birmingham.

The business believes the huge jump in sales is related to the recent coronovirus outbreak, with suspected or confirmed cases of the virus in four of the five cities: London, Brighton, Luton and Birmingham.

Medino superintendent pharmacist Giulia Guerrini said the company has seen a spike in new customers following the arrival of coronavirus in the UK.

“A number of these customers are not our regular buyers, rather we’re seeing new customers purchasing large quantities of hand sanitiser, suggesting people are stockpiling in response to recent events,” she said.

“Some customers have told us they’ve ordered for offices and workplaces,” Ms Guerrini added.

More difficult sourcing products

Medino confirmed it is staring to become more difficult to source hand sanitisers but said it has not yet been able to determine whether this is a supply or logistical problem.

So far the company has, however, been able to find the products it needs. “We’ve done well to keep up with demand and we’ve managed to source hand gel from a number of different suppliers here in the UK,” Ms Guerrini said.

A Medino spokesperson told C+D yesterday (February 20) that its “suppliers are working hard to source [hand sanitisers] from their end and have been very helpful in informing us whenever there is availability of the product”.

The rise in the sales of hand sanitisers comes after wholesalers told C+D last month that they had sold out of face masks after the coronavirus outbreak.

Last week, the Department of Health and Social Care said it is monitoring the impact of the virus on the UK supply chain and is implementing measures to prevent shortages.