TSA will now allow up to 12 ounces of hand sanitizer through security checkpoints as coronavirus fears spread

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• TSA checkpoints will allow up to 12 ounces of hand sanitizer in carry-on bags, the agency said Friday, as the spreading coronavirus grips nervous travelers.
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• The restriction on liquids, gels, and aerosols came around in 2006, and limits those items to 3.4 ounces if carried through security checkpoints and onto planes.
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• More than 136,000 worldwide have been infected with the novel coronavirus as of this publishing, and more than 5,000 have died.
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• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Hand sanitizer in amounts up to 12 ounces - more than three times the current limit, which is 3.4 ounces - is now allowed in carry-on bags through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints and onto planes, an agency spokesperson said Friday.

However, because the containers will need to be screened separately like computers, it could add slight delays to screening lines. With air traffic dropping thanks to the spreading coronavirus, that uptick may not be noticeable.

-TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) March 13, 2020

As of Friday afternoon, the spreading virus has infected more than 136,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,000. Reported deaths in the US are at 41.

Demand for air travel has sunk as more travelers opt to stay home, sending airline stocks into free fall. The slump is likely to be greater than the crater following the terrorist attacks in September 2001, some Wall Street analysts estimate.

The original ban on liquids, gels, and aerosols was put into place in 2006, after United Kingdom officials uncovered a terrorist plot involving flights headed to the US.