Coronavirus concerns start to hurt small businesses in Jacksonville

Hours after the City of Jacksonville confirmed some patients are being monitored for the coronavirus, Action News Jax found families stocking up on sanitary supplies in local retail stores.

The Florida Department of Health said it is monitoring fewer than 10 people in Jacksonville for the coronavirus, but would not confirm a specific number of people. It does not mean any of these patients are infected, but Kayla Duke said she wants to make sure her family is still protected against any virus.

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“Getting hand sanitizer, getting some water and maybe some Lysol spray, and just being careful like when we touch carts and being out in public, especially public restrooms,” Duke said.

Some local families are having a hard time getting their hands on basic items, such as hand sanitizer. Major retail stores in Jacksonville are sold out of surgical masks, hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes.

As these items fly off the shelves in stores, prices are skyrocketing online. Action News Jax found some hand sanitizer bottles listed at $60 or $247 for a single bottle.

Action News Jax reached out to Amazon about potential price gouging online.

The company said it is taking action on accounts associated with these policy violations, including suspending or removing selling privileges.

A spokesperson sent this statement in response: “There is no place for price gouging on Amazon. We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to artificially raise prices on basic need products during a global health crisis and, in line with our long-standing policy, have recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of offers. We continue to actively monitor our store and remove offers that violate our policies.”

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A full-time stock trader in Jacksonville, Hank Swiencinski, said whenever there is panic, especially about a virus, the economy will be affected. He said price gouging is one of those results.

“It’s going to impact transportation, transportation stocks right now are in patterns that suggest significantly lower prices,” Swiencinski said. “The airlines, the cruise lines, anything that involves masses of people, movie theaters, all of those are going to be hit hard. I mean they’re going to get whacked; you haven’t seen the start of it yet.”

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