Caution over ‘huge drop’ in use of hand sanitisers: Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Hand sanitisers were among the top weapons to fight the pandemic when COVID-19 cases were first reported two years ago.

But now, it seems many are taking ‘sanitising hands’ for granted, and the drastic decline in its sales throws light on the heavy risk the public is opting for.

Pharma industry sources reveal that the demand for hand sanitisers has dropped by as high as 80 per cent, which is nothing but an ‘alarming rate’.

They have urged the authorities to ensure that hand sanitisers are provided to customers at all cold stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, restaurants and shopping outlets amid a steep increase in COVID-19 cases. 

Speaking to The Daily Tribune, Marwa Al Jamea, Chief Financial Administrator of Behzad Medical Establishment, one of the leading pharmaceutical distributors in the Kingdom, said there has been a drastic dip in the sale of hand sanitisers compared to the last year.

“Our hand sanitiser sales division has recorded a drop of 89 per cent when compared between last year and 2020 and this is a drastic change,” Al Jamea said.

“At our stores across the Kingdom, we have been maintaining hand sanitiser stands, allowing every customer to be a warrior in the fight against this pandemic.

The sharp drop in sales is a matter of alarm, especially when we see the Covid-19 infected cases rising.”

Binu Mannil Varghese, Consumer Product Division Manager at Gulf Pharmacy, another major pharmaceutical distributor, said demand for hand sanitisers has reduced substantially in the healthcare market.

“There has been a drop in sales – something between 30 and 35 per cent.

All I could say is the fear of COVID-19 seems to have vanished, which is not a good trend,” Varghese said.

“Initially, hand sanitisers were imported from China.

But, since the pandemic began, many companies in the region, including those in the Kingdom, began manufacturing hand sanitisers.

Owing to the similarities in components, many perfume companies took up hand sanitiser production.

And it seems now they will have to go back to the old days – manufacturing perfumes alone.”

Another pharma executive, who doesn’t want to be named, said his company has seen sales of hand sanitisers drop by 60 per cent.

“If you see the past three months, our hand sanitiser sales have come down by 80pc.

We have been buying sanitisers exclusively from Bahraini companies to promote localisation.

We hope the health authorities will give more emphasis on the use of sanitisers as a precautionary tool in the battle against COVID-19,” the executive said.

A health official said, “vaccines don’t offer a single solution.”

“Now the Kingdom has begun to administer second booster doses.

While the Health Ministry is doing its job, it is also up to the public to co-operate fully to make this fight against the virus a big success.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), using hand sanitisers is one of the most effective ways to contain the spread of COVID-19.

“Coronavirus is an enveloped virus and hand sanitisers are effective in removing these enveloped viruses by inactivating the envelope, thus making it non-infectious.”

As of now, the Kingdom has a little over 3,700 active COVID-19 cases while 615 new cases were reported on the New Year day.

The Kingdom moved to Yellow Alert Level last week as a precautionary measure against the spread of new Omicron variants.

The Kingdom has reported only a single case of Omicron.

According to the Ministry of Health, the Yellow Alert decision follows the Kingdom’s approach of prioritising public health in line with the guidelines issued by the WHO.

The National Medical Taskforce for Combating COVID-19 has already urged individuals to visit health centres and receive booster jabs, and there is also no requirement to make an appointment.

Individuals who have already received their booster shots can follow the procedures of the Green Alert level.

According to Health Ministry statistics, 848,039 individuals have received booster doses in the Kingdom.