Online pharmacy 海角视频 Meds says it has seen sales of its hygiene face masks surge 鈥 as people try to protect themselves against the coronavirus.
With the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Britain topping 115, and the first 海角视频 fatality reported yesterday, the Notts-based retailer said masks had become the fastest selling item on its website.
In the past month, management said mask sales were up 8,000 per cent.
But they warned masks did not guarantee full protection - and urged everyone to regularly wash their hands and cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze.
海角视频 Meds said guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends masks graded at FFP2 and FFP3 during outbreaks of infections such as SARS, bird flu and coronavirus.
The online pharmacy sells three hygiene masks.
Joe Soiza, managing director at 海角视频 Meds, which is based in Castle Marina, Nottingham, said: 鈥Coronavirus is spreading quickly so, naturally, people are looking to protect themselves in any way they can, with many hoping to get their hands on a medical face mask.
鈥淗owever, China, where the coronavirus is believed to have started, is the world鈥檚 biggest producer of hygiene face masks 鈥 leading to a shortage of stock.鈥
He said their masks were sourced from the 海角视频.
Established in May 2016, 海角视频 Meds operates nationally, selling lifestyle products and prescription medicines.
Shyam Morjaria, superintendent pharmacist at 海角视频 Meds, said: 鈥淎lthough plenty of people are recovering from coronavirus, it can be life-threatening, serious or devastating for high-risk groups.
鈥淎s this strain of the virus is so new, health and medical experts are still working to understand it better.
鈥淗owever, the general advice is that risk of exposure commences after being within two metres of an infected person for longer than 15 minutes.
鈥淚t seems like the reason COVID-19 is spreading so quickly is because it has an incubation period of between two and 14 days.
鈥淭his means a person may not show symptoms until two weeks after becoming infected and, during that time, they could have potentially passed it onto others.
鈥淪ome people doubt the effectiveness of wearing face masks, but the WHO has released guidance recommending their use.
鈥淔ace masks can contribute towards protecting yourself against COVID-19 because the virus is spread through infected droplets of saliva or mucus that are released when a person coughs or sneezes.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e wearing a face mask, it鈥檚 much harder to inhale these infected droplets.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to note that face masks do not guarantee 100 per cent protection from viruses though, and you should still follow best hygiene practises, such as hand washing and covering your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing.鈥
If you show symptoms of coronavirus 鈥 such as a cough, fever or difficulty breathing, call 111, share your travel history and follow the advice given.
