Brighton is hit by coronavirus panic as facemasks and hand sanitisers sell out

Brighton is hit by coronavirus panic as protective facemasks and hand sanitisers sell out after local man falls ill with the disease

  • Pharmacists in Brighton have sold out of hand sanitiser and protective masks
  • Yung Feng Oriental Food Store has banned shoppers unless with gloves or mask  
  • Middle-aged man took himself to Royal Sussex County Hospital with symptoms

Brighton has been hit by coronavirus panic as residents rush to buy face masks and hand sanitiser after a local man fell ill with the disease. 

Pharmacists in the city have seen the protective items sell out after a middle-aged man took himself to A&E at the Royal Sussex County Hospital last weekend suffering flu-like symptoms. 

The anonymous victim was then whisked 55 miles to a specialist infectious diseases unit at Guy’s Hospital in London, where he will remain in isolation for at least two weeks. 

A sign on the window of Yung Feng Oriental Food Store in the city stated: ‘It has arrived in Brighton’ 

And in an effort to stop the spread of infection, a Brighton Chinese supermarket has even banned shoppers from entering unless they agree to wear a facemask and sterile gloves.

A sign on the window of Yung Feng Oriental Food Store stated: ‘It has arrived in Brighton.’

The store owner said: ‘We are a Chinese supermarket and we have a lot of Chinese customers so we are taking all the precautions we can.

Shoppers have been banned from entering the Chinese supermarket unless they agree to wear a face mask and sterile gloves

Shoppers have been banned from entering the Chinese supermarket unless they agree to wear a face mask and sterile gloves

‘We saw that the virus appears to be spreading and we don’t want to take any chances. I don’t think we are scaremongering. We are doing what we can to make sure people are safe.’

The sign continued: ‘Our shop only take(s) delivery orders from today.

‘…Or the store only accepts customer wear masks and disposable gloves, gloves available in our store.’ 

Face masks and hand sanitisers have sold out at Superdrug, Kamsons Pharmacy, Boots and Paydens Pharmacy in the city.

The man, who returned from Singapore by plane last week, took himself to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night after suffering from flu-like symptoms. He was then transferred to Guy's Hospital in London (pictured)

The man, who returned from Singapore by plane last week, took himself to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night after suffering from flu-like symptoms. He was then transferred to Guy’s Hospital in London (pictured) 

It comes as a student at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy in Brighton is self-isolating for 14 days, following advice from Public Health England.

In a message to parents the school said that the student was at home and the school would be notified if they do present symptoms.  

The school said it had been advised by health authorities that schools do not need to close. 

The UK patient who arrived in France from Singapore on January 24 had been attending a business conference at a £1,000-a-night hotel in the Asian country

The UK patient who arrived in France from Singapore on January 24 had been attending a business conference at a £1,000-a-night hotel in the Asian country

Five Britons diagnosed with coronavirus in a French ski chalet caught the killer infection from the Brighton man who stayed at the same resort.    

The middle-aged patient had flown from Singapore to the Alpine village of Contamines-Montjoie near Mont Blanc where he spent four days.

But he only displayed symptoms of the highly contagious bug on his return to the UK, where he was quarantined as the third coronavirus patient on British soil.

The UK patient landed in France from Singapore on January 24 after attending a business conference at a £1,000-a-night hotel in the Asian country

The gathering at the luxury-laced Grand Hyatt comprised more than 100 people and has been linked to the spread of coronavirus in at least three other states. 

However during his stay in France he infected five fellow Britons – including one child – who all tested positive with the disease in France today.

The unnamed patients were in a ‘stable condition’ and they were being monitored constantly, according to French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk