Virus fears spark international regulatory controls after shelves stripped

Nations around the world are being forced to strictly regulate the procurement and sales of items as demand surges, or falls, amid the Covid-19 coronavirus scare.

Countries also find themselves having to manage or cancel large events based on the perceived danger and rapid spread of the flu-like virus.

Several countries have begun enforcing the rationing of protective masks and in the US, Vice-President Mike Pence has said the government is in talks with producer 3M to ramp up its production to keep up with the country’s demand.

In Europe, stockpiling buyers have all but depleted the supplies of masks held by wholesalers, and shelves at retail outlets are empty.

Australia’s big grocers put strict limits on purchases of toilet paper and tissues, after shoppers stripped shelves in a rush of panic buying, while the country recorded its fourth case of local transmission.

The biggest grocery chain, Woolworths, limited sales to four packs a shopper to keep up stock levels as  suppliers ramp up production, while Costco limited buyers to one bulk-buy pack each.

Despite imposing border controls a month ago on visitors from the epicentre of the outbreak in China, Australia now has 44 cases, four involving people who caught the disease despite not having left the country.

China is encouraging producers of protective suits for medical use to export to meet overseas demand as the coronavirus spreads outside the country, a government official said on Wednesday.

With the closure of many of the country’s industrial and manufacturing hubs - as workers have been forced to remain in doors and at home - the worldwide price of computer parts has shot up by more than 25% as the vacuum of available equipment hits markets dependent on Chinese hardware.

Russia has suspended the export of surgical masks and medical gear including bandages and one-use chemical protection suits.

The resolution said the suspension would not affect exports being made for humanitarian reasons or individuals taking items out of the country for their own use.

“It is mainly necessary to prevent a so-called “artificial deficit” in certain medical items — masks, respirators, antiviral agents that speculators can export abroad,” industry minister Denis Manturov said.

In Italy, police seized protective masks being sold for exorbitant prices by Italian companies.

France will regulate the price of hand sanitising anti-bacterial gels after prices were reported to have increased heavily since the coronavirus outbreak began, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said stocks of protective masks would be requisitioned.

India has now stepped up preventive measures including barring visitors from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan, except diplomats and officials from international bodies.

In South Korea, scores of events — from K-pop concerts to sports seasons — have been cancelled or postponed over the contagion, with school and kindergarten breaks extended by three weeks nationwide.

All day-care centres are also closed.

Google on Tuesday cancelled its major annual gathering of software developers amid concerns over the deadly coronavirus.

A Google developers’ account tweeted: “It’s sad that we won’t be able to gather as a developer community but your health and safety is our priority.”

It joins a growing list of global events that have been cancelled as the virus spreads around the world.

Facebook recently cancelled its F8 developers conference, the biggest annual event for the US tech giant, due to virus worries.

Worldwide, about 3,200 people have died from the virus with more than 90,000 infections. China, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan are the worst affected. — Additional reporting by AFP, Reuters