Nearly all pharmacies have run out of masks

The sale of masks has been so brisk here that nearly all pharmacies have run out of the item as people rushed to buy them to protect themselves from the worsening haze situation.
Some pharmacies also noted an increase in the sale of vitamins and inhalers for asthma patients.
Most pharmacies reported that surgical and dust masks were being sold for between RM1 and RM5.
An employee with the Vitacare Pharmacy in Kuala Lumpur said the sale of masks was so hot that their five boxes of 50 masks each, which were brought in at 2.30pm on Thursday, got snapped up within the hour.
“We are now out of cheaper ones such as surgical and dust masks and even the supplier has run out of them.
“The only ones that the supplier can give us right now are N95 masks. These masks are of better quality but more expensive as they are sold for RM7 each,” she said.
A staff member at the Guardian Pharmacy branch in Putrajaya said they ran out of their stock three days ago and were waiting for new supplies.
“We’ve sold about 1,000 masks so far as Putrajaya is badly affected by the haze and people are coming in droves to buy masks and asthma inhalers,” she said.
Meanwhile, Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said they did not receive any reports of patients who were critically ill or had died from haze-related illnesses but noted there was an increase in the number of patients seeking treatment because of the haze.
Source