MULTAN: With suspected cases of Coronavirus present in the country, pharmacies here have completely gone out of surgical masks.
Interestingly, all these pharmacies went out of stock when only a single suspected case of the viral disease surfaced in Karachi.
“My mother who is a diabetic patient asked me to buy a mask for her as a precautionary measure given that sugar patients are more vulnerable to the virus as compared to others. We live in Garden Town, but unfortunately could not find a single mask,” said Saira Nasir, a university employee, while talking to APP here on Tuesday.
“I went to all the pharmacies in Cantt and to my surprise, all were selling masks at very high rates,” the woman informed.
Ahrar Khan, a college student, said that his father asked him to buy masks for the whole family and he purchased them at five times higher than the usual rate from a pharmacy at Chungi No 1 Road. “It is a pity that medical store owners are exploiting the situation as demand has gone up because of Cornovirus,” he observed, suggesting that the government should take stern action against expositors.
Malik Ejaz, who runs a pharmacy at Nishtar Road, said that panicked by the news of the disease, people purchased masks in packs to stock up which is the real reason behind the shortage.
After a few days, masks would be available, he hoped while adding that they were also worried when customers went back empty handed.
Another pharmacy owner, Muhammad Qasim, also reiterated the same saying that the demand had really risen in recent days which has led to this situation. “I wish and hope that this shortage is met by whole sellers and distributors soon,” he maintained.
“This is not the first time customers are complaining of a deficiency, the history of the pharma industry in Pakistan is replete with numerous examples,” he reminded.
Another pharmacist, Rao Farrukh, said the masks were used for a number of purposes which is also another reason behind the shortage. “A respirator and mask are two different things,” he clarified.
