The cost of face masks has spiked sharply across Hong Kong in recent days, with some pharmacies tripling prices as residents and tourists worried by the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus scramble to stock up on the protective gear.

On Friday afternoon, masks in two of six pharmacies the Post visited in the popular Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district were out of stock, while some were charging as much as HK$200 for a box of 50 surgical masks, and HK$60 for an N95 respirator, widely used during the 2003 Sars outbreak, which claimed 299 lives in Hong Kong.

Long queues were also spotted across the city, including at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong and AEON department store in Tai Koo, with the latter restricting customers to two boxes of masks each.

Retailers blamed the price increases on a spike in costs, saying there was limited wholesale supply.

On Lok Road, the Lung Shing pharmacy charged HK$150 for a box of surgical masks. Masks were unavailable for individual sale.

View photos People wearing protective masks walk in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong district on January 23. Photo: Bloomberg More

“The wholesale prices are high. It’s difficult to get the stock,” a saleswoman who declined to be named said.

The HK$60 price tag for a N95 was up 30 per cent from the shop’s normal rate, she said, adding that some customers told her they found the same kind of mask being sold for as much as HK$120 elsewhere.

Asking about mask prices, local resident Phoebe Chu said she had bought a box of 50 for HK$55 at a Kwun Tong pharmacy on Wednesday, when Hong Kong reported its first two cases of coronavirus.

But when the marketing worker returned to the same branch on Friday, the price for the same type of masks had surged to HK$150.

“I don’t believe there is a real shortage. It’s more like taking advantage of the unfortunate event,” the woman in her 30s said.

“The government should monitor the market and disallow businesses to raise prices up by multiple times.”

View photos Long queues were seen at the AEON department store in Tai Koo, which only allowed customers to buy two boxes of masks each. Photo: Stella Lee More

She added that officials could buy masks for residents as has been done by the Macau government, which ordered 20 million face masks to be sold to citizens at a low price.

Italian tourist Carlo Cocco, 59, who came to the city for a three-day trip, said he had visited six pharmacies before finding a face mask for HK$30.

Cocco said he had been on a cruise trip and unaware Hong Kong had confirmed cases of infection.

“I am just a little bit worried. It’s not a big problem in Hong Kong, it’s more in Wuhan,” the retiree said.

In Causeway Bay, some prices were even higher. One shop priced a box of 50 US brand masks at HK$268.

View photos In Tsim Sha Tsui, the price of face masks has shot up. Photo: Kanis Leung More

“I’m not buying that. This is way too expensive,” said local banker Jay Wong, who had already bought more than 100 masks for himself, his wife and son.

Wong also expressed frustration at what he saw as a lack of government action.

“Government officials themselves are not wearing masks. The government was reluctant to do health notification at the border initially and would not want to consider locking down the border,” Wong said.

On Thursday evening, acting chief executive Matthew Cheung Kin-chung and health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee did not wear masks as they announced plans to tighten preventive measures, including extending health declaration requirements to high-speed rail passengers.

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