Prices of protective equipment increases alongside the risk of coronavirus

Price of surgical masks skyrocketed in Karachi after two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the country and the panic amongst civilians increased. A medical store owner confirmed that a box of ordinary surgical masks which would have ordinarily cost somewhere between Rs300 to 400 is now being sold for more than Rs2,000. Store owners also say prices of N-95 masks used to protect from coronavirus, despite becoming more expensive is also no longer available in the market. Despite a ban by the government of Pakistan on the export of masks, nearly 10,000 N-95 masks and more than 3,600 ordinary regular masks were exported to China. Six companies were given special permission to export masks to China, leading to a shortage in the country. Health officials have blamed the hoarders for the shortage. To read more from ProperGaanda: Anchor threatened and detained PEMRA official in Lahore