Resolutely fight against price hikes on medical supplies during the Corona virus epidemic
(Baonghean.vn) - Faced with the situation where many pharmacies are taking advantage of the epidemic to speculate, raise prices, and trade in fake and poor-quality goods such as masks and hand sanitizers, causing chaos in the market, the Economic Police Department of Nghe An Provincial Police has taken drastic action.
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| Faced with the situation of pharmacies arbitrarily raising prices of medical supplies for epidemic prevention, the Economic Police Department of the Provincial Police has established working groups to fight fiercely. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Right after Tet, especially on January 31, when there was news that Nghe An had a patient suspected of being infected with the Corona virus, the price of masks in Nghe An skyrocketed, with many places selling at prices 5-7 times higher than before but still "sold out". People rushed to buy masks and hand sanitizer, causing jostling and pushing at pharmacies and causing chaos in the medical supplies market in the province.
Since February 2nd, Nghe An Provincial Police have simultaneously deployed and conducted inspections of pharmacies., pharmacies in the whole Nghe An province. This inspection discovered 08 pharmacies and drugstores violating the law by increasing the selling price of masks by 3-5 times the normal price. In particular, the Economic Police Department of the Provincial Police directly fought and discovered 04 cases related to the above situation, contributing to stabilizing the general situation of the whole province.
Taking advantage of the high demand, pharmacies have simultaneously "inflated" the price of masks to make illegal profits. From the price of 25,000 VND, 35,000 VND, 40,000 VND/box (depending on the type) to 150,000 VND - 200,000 VND/box, many places sell them at 50,000 VND/dozen - 55,000 VND/dozen (equivalent to 250,000 - 275,000 VND/box, previously only 7,000 - 8,000 VND/dozen). This behavior of these subjects has directly affected the goal of stabilizing market prices and people's lives, causing public outrage.
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| The fight against violations of arbitrarily raising mask prices compared to regulations has encountered many difficulties and obstacles, requiring the Economic Police and Provincial Police to be persistent and determined. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
In the face of the above situation, implementing the direction of the Provincial Police Director on the prevention and control of acute respiratory infections caused by the new strain of Corona virus, the Economic Police Department, Provincial Police has established 4 working groups. Of which, 3 quick response working groups use professional measures to detect and inspect pharmacies and drug stores that sell medical masks and hand sanitizers at prices other than the prescribed price.
At the same time, a team was established to coordinate with other forces to conduct propaganda work and mobilize pharmacies and drug stores to sign a commitment not to dump medical masks and hand sanitizer solutions.
“The fight against these subjects is extremely difficult. Because masks are not on the price stabilization list, these subjects sell large quantities in a short time, and when there are inspection forces, they hang signs saying they are out of stock. Meanwhile, people's awareness of denouncing crimes is not high, and they have not self-denounced acts to the authorities when they discover violations. However, with the high determination of the force, the close direction of the industry leaders, the task force and teams have "stayed low" and closely followed the base, implemented professional measures, and resolutely fought against violators to stabilize the market and bring confidence to the masses."
Specifically, the pharmacies inspected, detected and handled include: Lan Thao Pharmacy (No. 95, Pham Dinh Toai Street, Vinh City); Pharmacy No. 126 of HDT Pharmaceutical and Investment Joint Stock Company (Hamlet 14, Dien Yen Commune, Dien Chau District); Private injection and dressing change service facility of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuan (No. 68, Dang Thai Than Street, Vinh City); Lan Thao Pharmacy (No. 126, Ly Tu Trong Street, Vinh City); Bao An Pharmacy (No. 144, Nguyen Phong Sac Street, Vinh City); Linh Chi Pharmacy (No. 270, Truong Chinh Street, Vinh City); Manh Ha Pharmacy (No. 4, Nguyen Van Troi Street, Vinh City) and Nhan Hoa Thanh Dat Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (No. 1, Cao Thang Street, Vinh City). With the achieved results, the Economic Police force and the Provincial Police have contributed to stabilizing the market, creating good public opinion and gaining the people's support.
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| The Economic Police Department, Nghe An Police, has closely coordinated with functional forces to combat, detect and handle many violations, contributing to stabilizing the market and orienting public opinion. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
It is estimated that the situation of masks and hand sanitizers in the coming time will continue to be scarce, causing a virtual fever for a while; some traders will take advantage of this situation to carry out acts of speculation, hoarding, smuggling goods across the border and producing fake masks, fake hand sanitizers... Therefore, in addition to the fierce fight of the economic police force, if people discover any business establishments showing signs of violations, they are requested to immediately contact the Economic Police Department, Provincial Police for strict handling before the law. At the same time, people are advised to stay calm and be vigilant against false, unverified information on social networking sites of some subjects to create a situation of fake scarcity, serving speculation, hoarding, and profiteering.
