From Big Box stores, to mom and pop pharmacies, surgical masks are flying off the shelves in the city.
Chinatown Pharmacist Teresa Zahn says she's never seen anything like it.
"Usually people will be like, ‘Let me just get like five, just have it in my bag if I go anywhere public, I can put it on,’ verses now if they see we have a box they will be like, ‘Give it to me.’"
Zahn says the demand for the masks began about three weeks ago, as fears of the new Coronavirus virus began to spread.
She says her pharmacy normally stocks the masks for flu season, and that it ordered more because of the coronavirus.
Those orders never came.
"I have all these generic wholesalers that we order from and we have been having it on auto-ship, but nothing has been coming in,” Zahn said. “I called them up to make sure and asked, ‘Do you have anything in stock?’ and they said, ‘No, we have nothing.’"
Zahn says her clients have been buying in bulk, mostly to send to family overseas.
As a result, her shop and many others have set a limit on the number of masks per customer. Two college students, Maio Qi and Kaitong Guo, spent much of the day scouring Chinatown for masks to send to relatives back in China.
"For our parents back in China, because they can’t find any of the masks in China and they need it more than us," said Qi.
While most stores in Chinatown are sold out, some do have a very limited supply, like Canal Street Pharmacy.
Qi and Guo bought five masks at one store for 80 cents each and a box of thirty at another pharmacy, but are hoping to buy at least 100 more.
"They are very hard to find any surgical masks, either on the internet or in physical stores, so we’re just trying to get some from other countries to help out our families," said Guo.
Pharmacies in the area say their wholesaler will not be able to get them a full shipment of the masks until June and instead pharmacists are telling their clients to practice all the normal precautions they have during flu season.
Pharmacies in the area say their wholesaler will not be able to get them a full shipment of the masks until June and instead pharmacists are telling their clients to practice all the normal precautions they have during flu season.