Vancouver Stores Are Running Out Of Face Masks & People Are Selling Them Online
A new strain of the coronavirus has been identified and cases were confirmed in Wuhan, China. Now, several people are under observation in Canada, specifically in B.C. and Quebec. Though medical health professionals believe the coronavirus risk is quite low in Canada, many individuals have grown fearful and are taking measures to protect themselves. In Vancouver, face masks have been flying off the shelves. In fact, the Vancouver coronavirus scare has got many places sold out and people have started selling them online.
The Government of Canada’s website explains that symptoms include things such as a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever, and general unwellness.
Though, in more serious cases “other types of coronavirus infections cause illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) can produce more severe illnesses such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, kidney failure, or even death.”
As some of the symptoms are terrifying, Vancouver has gone into survival mode and for many, one of the courses of action has been to buy a face mask.
Narcity spoke with Shoppers Drug Mart in Vancouver who told us that they had completely sold out of the masks.
A manager from a London Drugs location in Vancouver told CTV News that the masks had also sold out at his store.
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Richmond News also spoke to several pharmacies in the area that said they had either sold out of masks or only had a few left in stock.
As you can tell, face masks are a hot topic in Metro Vancouver right now. As a result, people have taken to Craigslist and Kijiji to sell them.
One ad is selling eight boxes containing 160 masks total for $300. Another ad reads “Face Masks (Protect yourself from corona virus) - $10” and is located in Richmond, B.C.
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Over on Kijiji, a huge quantity of masks is being sold for $250. The description reads "Sold out almost everywhere," and explains that they can ship almost anywhere in Canada.
Though masks are flying off the shelves, a number of health care professionals have been speaking up about the effectiveness of the masks, or rather, lack thereof.
Global News spoke to Eleanor Fish, an immunology professor at the University of Toronto, who said that though masks can slightly reduce the amount of virus one may be exposed to, they don’t protect the eyes and are often quite loose.
She explained that hygiene practices are more imperative at this time.
If you're still interested in buying yourself a facemask to protect from the coronavirus in Canada, you may need to look online.
