Etsy has removed all coronavirus-related items that "attempt to exploit" the situation, reports BuzzFeed News.
"In order to keep our marketplace safe, our team is prioritizing taking down any listings that claim to protect against coronavirus," an Etsy spokesperson said Wednesday.
"In the past few days alone, we have removed thousands of items that make such medical claims. We have also taken down hundreds of items that attempt to exploit the developing coronavirus situation. Our teams continue to automatically and manually review and remove items that violate our policies."
Thirteen states across the United States have reported over 80 confirmed non-repatriated cases of the novel coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, China. Eleven people have died, including 10 in Washington State.
The virus has killed 3,200 people, the vast majority in mainland China. There are now over 92,000 global cases, with infections in more than 70 countries and territories.
Outside mainland China, 233 deaths have been linked to the virus: in Italy, the U.S., Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, France, Iraq, San Marino, Spain, Iran and six Diamond Princess passengers.
Some of the items removed from Etsy included T-shirts that said, "I Survived Coronavirus 2020," "Straight Outta Wuhan" and "I don't have coronavirus I'm just drunk."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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