Chinese citizens mass-buying meds from Singapore to send home: report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: South China Morning Post
22 Dec 2022 23:28

Following the new COVID-19 outbreak the South China Morning Post newspaper reports that Chinese citizens living in Singapore have been buying antipyretic meds from pharmacies to send to their relatives in China.

A health worker in China wearing a protective suit and swabbing a man's throat to test for COVID-19.

The South China Morning Post newspaper said in a report published on Thursday that Chinese citizens living in Singapore have been sending their relatives back home antipyretic medicine as a new wave of Covid hits the country.

Among the medicinal drugs sent home is Panadol which is apparently going missing from pharmacies in Singapore after the increased buying trend.

According to a pharmacy employee, one Chinese customer purchased $315 worth of Panadol, depleting their stocks, adding that the same customer came 2 days later and bought again the entire stock.

The employee stated that the customer disclosed that he was buying the medicine to send it to his family back in China.

"In the past two weeks, every day there have been more than 10 customers coming to ask whether we have Panadol, what type we carry and if there are any alternatives," the employee told the newspaper.

Some pharmacies began setting a purchase limit on Panadol, the report added.

On November 26, China reported 39,791 new COVID-19 infections, of which 3,709 were symptomatic and 36,082 were asymptomatic, as per the National Health Commission. The day before, China had announced 35,183 new cases a day earlier, with 3,474 symptomatic and 31,709 asymptomatic infections counted separately in China.

The country has implemented lockdowns, mass testing, and quarantines to fight the spread of the virus at home.