According to new data from ASI, searches for face masks and hand sanitizer increased dramatically this month, signaling a growing concern about preventing transmission of the coronavirus.

This month, the terms “hand sanitizer” were searched 5,577 times, up from 2,900 in January and 2,173 in February 2019 (a 92% increase and 157% increase, respectively).

Meanwhile, “face mask” was searched 711 times this month, up from 373 last month (a 91% increase) and just 25 at the same time last year (a 2,744% increase).

The first coronavirus deaths in the U.S. occurred on Feb. 27, when two residents of a nursing home in Kirkland, WA, succumbed to the disease. As of March 4, there are 126 cases across 13 states and 11 people have died, 10 in Washington state and one in California. A Department of Homeland Security location in King County has closed after an employee visited the Kirkland care facility. 

Homeland Security facility in Washington state closes due to coronavirus outbreak - CNNPolitics https://t.co/mxdCSaeAX4

— David P Gelles (@gelles) March 3, 2020

Chocolate Inn/Lanco (asi/44900) offers hand sanitizer to the industry, and marketing manager Nick Caputi says that while they usually see an increase in demand each year during flu season, this year is different.

“We saw a direct jump in sanitizer interest once the coronavirus became headline news,” he says. “It’s been a 40% increase year over year.”

Fortunately, the company manufactures its own sanitizer, so they’ve been able to replenish supply to keep up with demand. They’ve seen orders from a variety of industries, mainly for their own employees’ use, and they don’t expect it will diminish anytime soon. “With all of the reports coming in, we anticipate the demand to continue well into the spring and very likely even further,” says Caputi.

SnugZ/USA (asi/88060) also offers sanitizer, and demand increased significantly since January and has been “off the charts” since the end of February, says CEO Brandon Mackay, about the time that California announced it had its first case of unknown origin; the patient had not traveled to any countries with confirmed cases and hadn’t been exposed to anyone infected.

Sanitizer sales at Snugz are up 25% from February 2019, mostly for health campaigns, hospitals, schools and travel-related companies. “We’ve also seen a spike in requests that confirm the product is manufactured in the USA,” says Mackay, who added that much of its products (not just personal care) are in higher-than-normal demand because of the ripple effect of the virus.

“I think the fact that we’re a domestic manufacturer has pushed business our way as the workforce has yet to return to China after Chinese New Year,” he says. “People had hoped that China factories would be open and then ran out of time, and now the orders for us are coming in like a wave.”

Personal care supplier and manufacturer Raining Rose (asi/80489) says they’re seeing a 400% year-over-year increase in sales for hand sanitizer, and volume of inquiries is even higher.

“At this point in the year, we usually see our business move toward sunscreen,” says Lindsey Davis, director of promotional sales. “Instead, we’re seeing an uptick in sanitizer that’s outpacing sunscreen. Our call and email volume and our rush orders for sanitizer have all increased. We’re continuing to produce our best-selling items more quickly and in larger batches to keep up with demand, since most requests aren’t item-specific.”

Many of the requests are coming from the travel industry and public event organizers. “We’re forecasting that demand on our inventory will continue to build,” she says, “so our staff is prepared to handle the increase in general communication.”

Meanwhile, ASI suppliers that manufacture or source disposable face masks are also seeing increases in demand. This comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has asked the public not to panic-buy masks in bulk, since they’re not effective for protecting non-infected people from catching the virus, but are needed for infected patients to help stop the spread. Shortages have led to unprotected health workers, who are at the highest risk for transmission, and price-gouging.

Panic over the novel coronavirus is hitting a fever pitch in the US. And despite repeated pleas from health officials not to purchase them, Americans can't stop snatching up masks and respirators. https://t.co/QKMYqpL49c

— FOX 5 San Diego (@fox5sandiego) March 3, 2020

“This is a psychological thing,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told CNN this week. “The coronavirus is coming, and we feel rather helpless. By getting masks and wearing them, we move the locus of control somewhat to ourselves.”

Suppliers in the promo industry say the increase in demand is absolutely related to these fears. “Inventory is really tight nowadays,” says Cecilia Shi, marketing manager at Wonderland Promo Inc. (asi/98102). “But we have several factories that produce them, so we’re not anticipating that inventory will be affected. I’m not sure of the exact end-buyers asking for them, but we’re expecting demand to continue building over the next month.”

Nancy Wang, a manager at AC Services Co. (asi/55220), says the demand is rising so fast that accurate numbers are hard to calculate, but they also work with factories that are churning them out quickly. “We’re also seeing more demand for infrared ear and forehead thermometers,” she says. “This will definitely continue over the next month.”

To encourage continued mask production over the coming weeks, the U.S. government has made plans to buy up all surplus supply of face masks. The plan is to obtain 500 million N95 respirators and face masks over the next 18 months for the Strategic National Stockpile, comprised of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and emergency supplies.

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