Business houses across the world, including here in Guyana, have been, seemingly with little if any public or official urging, throwing in their lot in support of what now, is a frantic global effort to roll back the tide of the coronavirus menace.
Leaving aside the creation of publicly positioned ‘washing up’ stations outside some business places which facilities are entirely open to members of the public, there are other meaningful initiatives being undertaken by business houses designed to create a heightened sense of assurance here in Guyana amongst a population which is now showing signs of undisguised ‘jitters’ over the rampaging coronavirus pandemic.
One of the local initiatives that has come to light is the ‘emergency manufacture of volumes of alcohol-based sanitizing cleaner which is not only available on the local market in reassuringly sufficient quantities but which is being used by the manufacturers, Demerara Distillers Ltd, one of Guyana’s blue-ribbon rum manufacturers, for free distribution that targets institutions that are considered particularly vulnerable to virus-related infections at this time, including senior citizens’ homes, orphanages, night shelters and prisons. The company says that it is also extending its gift to agencies that provide public services to assist in keeping counter surfaces clean. These include post offices, police stations, health centres, and public hospitals. All told, the company says that 12,000 litres of the product, which is 70% alcohol-based, will be distributed in five-gallon bottles.
DDL’s intervention comes on the heels of the near complete buyout of known sanitizing products from outlets across Guyana and, predictably, by spectacular levels of price-gouging that placed even the rationed volumes of sanitizing product beyond the reach of ordinary consumers.
Ironically, there are reports that in the face of a drop in alcohol sales at bars and other ‘watering holes’ in the US on account of the enforcement of social distancing, alcohol distillers have been turning their attention to the use of alcohol in the manufacture of hand sanitizer. These distillers are reportedly combining their key ingredient – ethanol, which kills germs, with aloe vera and other chemicals in the manufacture of new types of hand sanitizer.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported on its website that alcohol-based solutions of at least 70 per cent alcohol are effective for disinfecting. Several named US ‘big players’ in the distillery sector are reportedly busy increasing their production of sanitizer. Some suppliers in the US are reportedly working round-the-clock to produce ethanol which is reportedly being combined with glycerol and hydrogen peroxide to make the sanitizer.
Here in Guyana, where several brands of hand sanitizer are commonly available at various outlets, the product has virtually vanished from the market with remaining stocks and particular brands being offered for sale, clandestinely, to ‘regular customers’ or else, in some instances, embraced in ‘black market’ rackets preoccupied with quick turnovers at sky-high prices.
