‘Unfortunate’: Hand sanitizer dispensers ripped off walls at KCI amid virus outbreak
As the novel coronavirus continued to spread across the region, several hand sanitizer dispensers were ripped off of bathroom walls at the Kansas City International Airport.
In a Facebook post Sunday, the airport said it would be unable to purchase more dispensers for months.
“Acts like this impact many people,” the airport said.
Airport officials said they were reviewing surveillance footage near the restrooms.
The airport said dispensers were the only way it could offer hand sanitizer because it was in dispenser bags. If the airport transferred it into bottles, the post said, those would probably disappear.
KCI apologized about the situation, which it called “unfortunate.”
“We have plenty of soap and paper towel dispensers intact, and there are still hand sanitizer dispensers in most restrooms,” the airport’s post said. “Wash your hands and use social distancing everyone.”
Concern about COVID-19 has caused a hand sanitizer shortage. On Thursday, hundreds of people flocked to a Kansas City distillery after it began producing hand sanitizer.
As of Sunday, at least 90 people in Missouri have tested positive for the virus, according to the state health department. Three people have died in the state, one each in Boone, Jackson and St. Louis counties.
In Kansas, there had been two deaths and 64 confirmed cases as of Sunday — 28 in Johnson County and 14 in Wyandotte County. It was an increase from 55 cases on Saturday.
This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 7:42 PM.
