70% Alcohol Content Make Turks Turn Towards Cologne To Fight Coronavirus

ISTANBUL: In Turkey, sprinkling hands with cologne has long been a ritual for a visit to the barber, a meal at a restaurant or even a trip on the bus.

SYMBOL OF HOSPITALITY

It is seen as a symbol of hospitality, as well as an aid to hygiene, in a country that sets great store by both.

Now Turkish cologne — found in almost every household, either in the fridge or a closet — is seeing unprecedented demand as a weapon in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Many Turks believe cologne, which has a high alcohol content, is effective in keeping hands and faces clean and thus warding off the risk of the novel coronavirus.

Long queues could be seen outside cologne shops in Istanbul’s busy spice market, in the historic Eminonu district, in early March before Turkey announced its first confirmed case. Now shops and pharmacies have put up signs reading “cologne sold out”.