Beijing authorities plan to strengthen price control amid the outbreak of a new type of coronavirus by imposing penalties on sellers who increase the prices of personal protection products, including masks and disinfectants, and withdrawing their licenses
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2020) Beijing authorities plan to strengthen price control amid the outbreak of a new type of coronavirus by imposing penalties on sellers who increase the prices of personal protection products, including masks and disinfectants, and withdrawing their licenses.
There has been a shortage of protective masks, antiviral drugs and vitamins in Beijing's pharmacies and stores since the beginning of the week, as people started buying them in bulk following reports that the coronavirus had reached the city. Some sellers have consequently started inflating prices to earn extra money.
According to Beijing's market regulation office, violators will be fined from 500,000 to three million Yuan ($72,000-$432,482). Over 100 inspection teams have been sent to different parts of Beijing to check prices in stores, pharmacies and markets, and the preliminary audit showed that prices were generally stable. However, a number of cases where there was no fixed price for goods were identified, and such cases are being investigated, the office stated.
The virus, which was first detected in the city of Wuhan in late December, has already killed 26 people and infected more than 880 others in China. Confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have also been recorded in the United States, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. However, the World Health Organization said on Thursday that it was too early to declare a global emergency.
