The line at this store southwest of Tokyo stretches outside onto the pavement. People aren’t trying to see a celebrity or buy the latest sneakers – they’re buying surgical masks. As the Wuhan coronavirus spreads, retailers cannot keep the preventative item on shelves and manufacturers can’t make enough. Drug stores have sold out of masks mere hours after opening.

Online, masks are fetching high prices. This lot of 420 is going for about 1,500 dollars, triple the usual price. Even with factories in the country working to increase production, manufacturers in Japan are urging people not to hoard so that there is enough to go around.