Local stores sell out of respirator masks amid coronavirus fears
Local stores sell out of respirator masks amid coronavirus fears
Medical supply and hardware stores in the Eugene area are selling out of respirator masks as coronavirus fears gear up.
Coronavirus fears are fueling a rush to buy face masks.
Consumers are having a hard time finding them both online and in- store... and as kezi 9 news reporter chris lueneburg shows us-- store owners say they aren't having much luck either.
"so typically, we have boxes here.
They are going to go up three high."
Empty shelves, a sign on the door, and a waiting list nearly 40 people deep... "we did ration them out, one box or two boxes at the max."
Shaw med on broadway street in eugene can't keep respirators on the shelves... and can't find anywhere to get more.
"a store like this, we are going to be low man on the totem pole.
They need to get them to hospitals and clinics."
It started out as a slow trickle weeks ago-- travelers and people with families abroad.
"not until the last days have we had the real flooding of whats happening.
And we've sold 12 boxes in two days."
Their next confirmed shipment-- late next month.
"so this is what all the hubub is about- it's called an n95 respirator.
You put it on like any other mask but it's designed specifically to filter out small particles in the air."
The c-d-c doesn't even reccommend the respirators outside of medical settings-- but it's not stopping customers.
"as of this morning, our true value distribution center didn't have anything left."
True value hardware in eugene says they rarely see demand like this.
"most of the rush was because of the smoke when the fires were bad a couple of summers ago.//and there's some concern that because of this they aren't going to have enough if they have a bad fire season."
Customers tell us they are buying respirators out of an abundance of caution-- and businesses are frustrated that they can't keep their customers feeling safe.
"we're just trying to get whatever we can, working with other distributors than our normal distributor just to service our community."
I'm chris lueneburg kezi 9 news.
