Pharmacists are struggling to keep up with a spike in customer demand as items like sanitisers, gloves, cough medicine and paracetamol fly off the shelves.
Competing international demand for medical items is making it difficult for agents to resupply pharmacists, the Chamber of Pharmacists has warned.
The pharmacists are dependent on what their agents can obtain from already limited supplies, it said.
Its members were “working flat-out to serve their patients with the best possible care, advice and guidance under these extraordinary pandemic circumstances”.
No sooner had they restocked the shelves, however, they were empty again.
One pharmacist told Times of Malta that over the last few days,customers had been buying items in bulk, such as hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, nappies and cough medicine.
This is in addition to the normal daily needs like medicine for heart conditions and high cholesterol.
“We had just brought in seven boxes of surgical spirit, with 24 cartons in each. They sold out in a day and a half,” the pharmacist said.
“We also ordered 500 Panadol boxes and they are selling three at a time. We’re working overtime to fill the shelves. It’s madness.”
We’re working overtime to fill the shelves
Another pharmacist yesterday said all this behaviour was a sign of the panic surrounding a potential lockdown and questions about what would happen if people were unable to go to the pharmacy.
With schools now closed, pharmacies are also facing the prospect of having to manage the situation while some of their staff stay at home with children.
“We have parents among our staff and they are asking for leave. I think they should be at home with them. It’s better that way so that they don’t pick up the virus and potentially spread it to their children.”
Pharmacy owners said they had never seen such high figures in such a short space of time, surpassing by far even the Christmas period.
“We have never seen sales like this since we opened around 10 years ago. They are more than double what we normally get,” one said.
Another said that in the space of three days, the pharmacy was sitting on thousands of euros in sales.
While the frenzy continues, one pharmacy stressed that the government needs to better understand that pharmacists should be considered as front liners in dealing with public concerns over coronavirus.
“We are the ones in direct contact with the community, before doctors. We still need the circular and guidelines from the government.”
Pharmacists have been advised to protect themselves from the coronavirus by ensuring that patients keep a one-metre distance from the counter by, for example, using coloured adhesive tape on the floor.
The chamber has also informed the public that there will be no change to the system for distribution of POYC medicines.
They said people should call for their medicines only when they are entitled to them, which is every two months.