Strabane is sold out of hand sanitiser

STRABANE has sold out of hand sanitiser as news intensifies over the spread of the coronavirus.

Speaking this week as the number of confirmed cases increased around the world, local pharmacist Luke Galbraith also revealed that it’s impossible to buy the face masks which have become synonymous with the outbreak.

More than 180 people in the North had been tested for the virus but there are still only three confirmed cases here.

“Hand sanitiser is effective but not as effective as hand washing,” Mr Galbraith from JPK Colhoun’s Chemist explained.

“Quite often with the sanitiser you don’t cover the whole area that you would when washing your hands. It’s OK if you’re out and about and you maybe don’t have access to hot soapy water but it’s not as effective as washing.”

When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they release droplets of saliva or mucus. These droplets can fall on people in the vicinity and can be either directly inhaled or picked up on the hands then transferred when someone touches their face, causing infection.

For flu, some hospital guidelines define exposure as being within six feet of an infected person who sneezes or coughs for 10 minutes or longer.

“But yes, I think the town is sold out of it (hand sanitiser),” Mr Galbraith continued. “Ever since the first case of the virus was reported in Northern Ireland.

“And we’re sold out as well. There is no time-frame for having them back in stock, the manufacture of items like these, a lot of times happens in China.”

Suggesting that anti-septic wipes and sterilising spray are good alternatives to the hand sanitisers, Mr Galbraith also remarked that facemasks have been at a premium since the beginning of January.

“There are no masks on the market at the minute,” he said. “A lot of people have been looking for them, but that’s mostly people who are going to be travelling abroad.”

STOPPING THE SPREAD
• Wash your hands: Wet your hands with clean, running water and apply soap. Lather your hands, including the backs, between your fingers, and under your nails and scrub for at least 20 seconds. Rinse.

• Cover your mouth: Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the bin and wash your hands. If you do not have a tissue to hand, cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than your hands.

• Face masks: These offer some protection as they block liquid droplets. However, they do not block smaller aerosol particles that can pass through the material of the mask. The masks also leave the eyes exposed and there is evidence that some viruses can infect a person through the eyes.