Sales of insect repellents spike in Bedok after Zika cases confirmed there
SINGAPORE — Sales of insect repellent in the Bedok area have spiked in the wake of news that Zika infections had reached Bedok North Avenue 3, as the area’s Member of Parliament Cheryl Chan made her rounds of the estate on Thursday (Sept 1) to advise and offer reassurance to residents.
Shops selling household goods in the area, such as those at nearby Bedok North Street 1, said they have seen a huge increase in people buying mosquito repellent.
Sales assistant Zhao Zhi Chao said all 50 to 60 bottles of repellent as well as patches in his shop have been sold out.
“A lot of young people and students came to buy today, by 4pm everything was sold out,” said the 28-year-old. “Usually, we take one to two weeks to sell that same amount of products.”
Ms Chan, speaking to reporters on Thursday evening before she embarked on house visits, said residents had been asking questions about Zika since Saturday, when the authorities first confirmed that there was a locally transmitted case. Among those who wrote in to Ms Chan were five pregnant women. “They asked what would we do if it happens here,” said Ms Chan. “So my main point to them is we will do the same standard measures for vector control.”
Noting that residents were worried and uncertain, she added: “The main thing is managing the situation and keeping them calm and also telling them facts and some of the things they hear because some people just listen to different sources of information.”
During her house visits, Ms Chan gave the residents bottles of mosquito and insect repellent, and leaflets containing information about Zika and the five-step mozzie wipeout to get rid of breeding sites.
Meanwhile, supermarket and convenience store chains said the spike in sales of mosquito and insect repellent is continuing.
Watsons Singapore general manager Dominic Wong said they have seen an increase in sales of over 300 per cent across outlets islandwide, and some stores had low stocks.
“However, we are carrying out stock replenishments to meet the increased demand. Among the mosquito repellent products that we carry, patches are the most popular among shoppers,” he added.
Dairy Farm Singapore — which manages Giant, Cold Storage and 7-Eleven among other stores — said it has noticed a “surge in demand” for mosquito repellent and related products across stores since Saturday.
“Sales have seen a general increase of more than 100 per cent mainly for mosquito patches, sprays and repellent,” said its spokesperson.
“We are working closely with our suppliers to ensure we can get the stocks out to the stores as fast as possible and we understand that the suppliers are also trying to get in new shipments as quickly as they can.”
A FairPrice spokesperson said it has seen a “more than two-fold increase” in the sales of mosquito repellent sprays and patches, and insecticide products since Monday.
“FairPrice wishes to assure shoppers we will continue to bring in stocks of insect repellent and insecticides to meet their needs, and we continue to closely monitor demand to respond accordingly,” the spokesperson said.
