For the past several weeks, US consumers have been emptying shelves of disinfectants, wipes, facemasks and even toilet paper amid rising concerns about novel coronavi-rus COVID-19. There's been a similar run on personal cleansers, too. IRI reports that sales of hand sanitizers soared 79.6% in US multi-outlets and liquid hand soap sales rose by 7.5% for four weeks ended Feb. 23, 2020. Yet while hand washing with soap remains a leading mechanism to ward off the spread of the illness—a message promoted by all health organizations and NGOs worldwide—consumers weren't raising the bar, so to speak. Bar soap sales fell 1.5% during that same period, according to IRI.
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