Screwfix outlets across the country are selling out of dust masks amid coronavirus fears in the 海角视频.
Leicester stores, for instance, located in Ulverscroft Road, Freemans Common and Thurmaston, have sold out of one of the cheapest masks that the company offers.
The JSP Flexinet Disposable masks currently retails for £2.99 on the store’s website and has the most reviews.
Another mask, the Delta Plus Foldable Valved Mask, is also sold out in every Leicester store. This mask retails at £21.99.
However, one source told LeicestershireLive they attempted to buy masks at a store in Broughton Astley, in the county of Leicestershire, but were told they were limited in the number of masks they were able to sell.
A Screwfix spokesperson told LeicestershireLive they are restricting people from bulk buying face masks across the country.
They said: “We are prioritising our trade customers so that they can purchase face masks to provide protection against dust whilst working on site.
“Screwfix is a retailer and not a wholesale operator. We will not be selling wholesale quantities.”
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There are also claims on social media that stores across the country are limiting the number of masks being sold to the public.
Grant Moreton said: “Went to @Screwfix to get a dust mask for work and all of them were sold out. I asked one of the workers and he said it’s because of the #coronavirus.”
Graham Creesborough said: “Why are we UNABLE to buy FACE MASKS in the 海角视频? I have tried 5 different chemists and all say they can’t buy any supplies?”
While Nicola Raistrick claimed that Screwfix is “limiting amounts of how many people can buy”.
Nathan Evans from Wrexham added: “Dust mask shortage in Screwfix Trafford park cause some guy just come and bought all the stock.”
Many more people in the 海角视频 may need to self-isolate in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus, the chief executive of the NHS has said.
Sir Simon Stevens issued the warning as more than 80 people quarantined at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral were allowed to leave following 14 days in isolation.
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The group were the first to be flown out of Wuhan city in China - the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak - by the Foreign Office and back to the 海角视频.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said those quarantined had been given a clean bill of health and people “can be reassured that their departure presents no risk to the public”.
Earlier, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said officials were working on delaying the spread of coronavirus cases throughout the 海角视频.
He said what happens with coronavirus - also known as Covid-19 - could go one of two ways, with the first scenario seeing the Chinese government getting on top of the epidemic and then a limited impact on the rest of the world.
While it is “highly likely” the 海角视频 will see more cases, it is possible the epidemic will go away, possibly aided by a change in the seasons which could dampen the spread of the virus, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Prof Whitty said: “The alternative is that it’s not possible to contain in China and this then starts (to spread) - probably initially quite slowly - around the world and then unless the seasons come to our rescue, then it is going to come to a situation where we have it in Europe and the 海角视频 in due course.”
Prof Whitty said the current 海角视频 strategy was focused on containment of individual cases, followed by delaying the spread.
On Wednesday evening, the 海角视频’s ninth case of coronavirus was confirmed in London.
The unnamed woman, who is being treated at a specialist NHS centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’, contracted the virus in China before flying to the 海角视频.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from coronavirus in China jumped to more than 1,350, with more than 60,000 recorded infections, as senior figures in Hubei province were dismissed amid criticism over the handling of the outbreak.
And 44 more people on quarantined cruise ship the Diamond Princess in Japan have tested positive for Covid-19 disease.
Two of those are Britons, taking the number of Britons on the ship diagnosed with coronavirus to three.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned that the outbreak “could still go in any direction”.
On Wednesday, Steve Walsh, the businessman linked to 11 British cases of coronavirus, including five in France, was given the all-clear and discharged from hospital.