–Essential medicines out of stock; fruits and vegetables being sold at exorbitant rates
LAHORE: Hours after Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced a 14-day partial lockdown of the province to contain COVID-19, citizens of the provincial capital thronged to their nearest grocery stores and pharmacies to stockpile food and medicines.
People from different walks of life informed Pakistan Today that despite the government’s assurance of ensuring consistent food and medicines supply, there is a perception that there would be a shortage of essential commodities in the city in the days to come, therefore, it is wise to stockpile at the earliest.
People seeking essential medicines for heart or diabetes or other chronic diseases were disappointed to see how the selfishness of a few had negative implications on others. Essential medicines for coronavirus, including Azythromycin (Azomax, Azom, Azolib, etc,), Chloroquine (Resochin) and Pyrimethamine (Fansidar) were out of stock in pharmacies and if any pharmacy had them, they were selling them for high prices.
Moreover, the immunity boosting vitamins also experienced a shortage in medical stores and pharmacies. Blood sugar testing kits which were being sold for Rs900 a week ago were now being sold for Rs1,400 at various pharmacies because of their shortage and high demand. Medicines used to treat malaria were out of demand two weeks ago but now they are being sold for as high as Rs12,000.
A pharmacy owner informed this scribe via phone call that most medicines were not being supplied by pharmaceutical companies. He urged the government to intervene in order to ensure a continuous supply of essential medicines.
Similarly, people also assembled at various fruit markets of the city during the day, including those at Jain Mandir, Sadar Bazar, Nishat Colony, Shadman and Defence Housing Authority (DHA). Seeing the high demand of their products, the vendors raised the prices of the fruits and vegetables.
To control the spread of the virus, most departmental stores in the provincial capital have taken a number of measures, including asking the customers to sanitise their hands and screening them for fever before allowing them inside the store.
FEAR AND PANIC:
As coronavirus cases continue to increase in the province, a sense of fear and uneasiness has gripped the people. At the moment, the citizens can be divided into two categories: those who are taking necessary precautions and those who believe that the virus would not cause them much harm. The former is terrified by the attitude of the latter because they believe the citizens should take collective responsibility for curbing the spread of the virus.
Moreover, hours after reports surfaced that the military has cordoned off cantonment areas for the general public, the authorities clarified that only the residents of the cantonment areas would be able move in and out of the areas freely whereas other citizens would have to show a valid reason for their visit as they wanted to restrict non-essential movement.
