“Wuhan virus outbreak triggers global run on face masks”, 29 January 2020

People across the globe are stockpiling facial masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, depleting online malls and store shelves from California to Beijing…

On Amazon and Alibaba, many shops peddling anti-virus masks had run out of stock as of Wednesday (Jan 29). Across China, Hong Kong and Singapore, people lined up for hours at stores and pharmacies hoping to secure dwindling supplies. People from San Francisco to Orlando said they were unable to find surgical masks at their usual outlets.

While the rush is global, Chinese people living abroad have been buying masks - especially the popular N95 variant made by 3M - to send back to family members or resell them online, often via Tencent's WeChat messaging app.

Demand is only likely to increase - even though doubts have surfaced among the medical community about their effectiveness in curbing the disease, which some doctors say can spread through physical contact…

China's government has responded to the worsening shortage by cracking down on vendors who sell fake masks or overcharge online. Over 80 shops on e-commerce platform Taobao, run by Alibaba Group Holding, allegedly sold counterfeit 3M and N95 face masks, Chinese state-media reported…

The company said on its official Weibo account that it removed shops found to engage in false advertising or price rigging. The e-commerce site said it sold 80 million face masks through Taobao within two days.

In Hong Kong, some store chains have begun restricting sales. Watsons said on its official Facebook account it would receive a limited supply on Jan 30, then limit purchases to 50 masks per person on a first come first serve basis. People in the city who have tried to send masks to mainland China said their deliveries got bounced back without being given a clear reason.

3M said it is increasing output and working with distributors to ensure sufficient inventory to meet demand and supply existing customers, according to a representative. Other factories are ramping up production. In Japan, plants that supply personal care company Unicharm have been working around the clock since Jan 17 after orders increased tenfold, according to spokesman Hitoshi Watanabe…