Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Photos and videos show insane queues for masks in Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which netizens say are all sold out
Photos and videos show insane queues for masks in Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which netizens say are all sold out
Jan 30, 2020, 08:37 IST
Business InsiderA queue to buy surgical face masks in front of a building in Hong Kong. Since last week, netizens have claimed on social media that many stores are out of stock. Twitter/YanK81350025
As the number of people falling victim to the Wuhan virus rises, stocks of surgical face masks are plunging across Asia, as anxious citizens form snaking queues at supermarkets and pharmacies to stock up.
Over the past week, netizens claim masks have sold at out most stores in cities like Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, with many uploading photos and videos of the insane queues that have formed in stores still offering precious stocks of the item.
Over in Singapore, lengthy queues also materialised, despite the Government telling citizens they did not require masks unless they showed symptoms of illness.
A Twitter photo taken in the Philippines’ capital of Manila showed people crowding a hospital corridor to purchase masks. “They ran out of masks at [two pharmacies] so we’re here at St. Luke’s Medical Center, and the queue is so long we’re all filling up the hallway,” the user wrote.
One two-minute video showed the insane length of the queues, with some shoppers even bringing their own foldable chairs to sit on while waiting in line.
… and even outdoors. According to netizens, queues could easily last four hours long, with some people still walking away empty-handed.
The same scene unfolded in Choi Ming Mall in Hong Kong’s Tiu Keng Leng area earlier on Jan 24. Netizens said it was normal to have queues form rapidly anytime people discovered a store had stocks of face masks.
A Jan 28 video by Chinese political activist Badiucao showed a crowd in Jiujiang – a city near Wuhan currently under lockdown – pushing and shoving against a metal gate to buy face masks from factory personnel.
In some places, fights even broke out in queues as tensions flared between anxious customers.
Queues for the masks have gotten so incredibly long that videos of them have been uploaded on social media, such as this one from Wednesday (Jan 29).
As the Wuhan virus sweeps across China, citizens have begun wearing masks en masse to protect themselves, leading to a nationwide shortage of the product. In Shanghai, snaking queues at pharmacies started forming as early as Wednesday (Jan 22).