A section of Kenyans are turning to methylated spirit after demand for hand sanitizers shot through the roof with the confirmation of Coronavirus cases in Kenya.
Nairobi residents stormed supermarkets from Friday, March 13 to stock up in readiness for a looming shortage as the Coronavirus pandemic grows worse.
Much of the items purchased in bulk were hand sanitizers, liquid Dettol antiseptic liquid and toilet papers.
This craze about sanitisers will mess us up. Remember only those with alcohol content of 60% and above are effective. And there is no way of truly knowing which sanitiser is which. Yet good old SOAP and RUNNING WATER does the job. Let's be wise.#coronaviruskenya
— Joe Ageyo (@jageyo) March 16, 2020
However, medics have cautioned that the sanitizers’ alcohol content was too low to provide any tangible benefits as that which is effective is 60%.
In response, Kenyans are looking at methylated spirits with between 70%-90% alcohol content.
A Twitter user named Peter Ayoma even wondered how Jack Daniels was insufficient to even act as a sanitizer.
Wah! Kumbe hata mzinga ya JD haiwezi osha coronavirus.
— PETER AYOMA (@AyomaPeter) March 16, 2020
Jack Daniels has an alcohol content of 35 % while Smirnoff Vodka has a 40% alcohol content.
A section of Kenyans is also suspecting an influx of counterfeit hand sanitizers even as demand increases.
My bosses are Chinese, they recommended We buy methylated spirit since the Sanitizers can now be fake. We are also taken body temperature before getting in
— 🕛 (@Wawatiri) March 16, 2020
President Kenyatta on Sunday, March 15 announced two more cases of confirmed Coronavirus and ordered the closure of all schools as a precautionary measure.
Kenyatta would also bar all flights into Kenya from countries with confirmed Coronavirus cases.