The Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau (ISAF) said in a statement yesterday that each resident is limited to purchase no more than five COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RAT) kits and no more than one box of antipyretics at a time, in order to best meet the needs of the majority of the public during the government’s COVID-19 transitional prevention and control period.
An antipyretic is a medicine that reduces fever.
The bureau said that instead of snapping up a particular brand of medicine, the public might consider buying other brands with the same ingredients, so as to reduce unnecessary worries arising from focusing on buying just one particular brand.
Meanwhile, the statement also said that the bureau has issued guidelines to pharmacies not to arbitrarily raise prices of necessary anti-COVID-19 supplies.
The statement said that it has coordinated with drug importers to expedite the processing of import approvals for anti-COVID-19 medicines and supplies to maintain a stable supply of related products and to meet public demand.
The bureau said that it has recently inspected pharmacies and found that there is pressure on the supply of NAT kits, specific brands of antipyretics (such as Pirenz) and anti-epidemic proprietary Chinese medicines, while there is still some stock of other brands of antipyretics, compound cold and flu medicines, and KN95 masks.
In addition, the statement also said that the government will provide free anti-COVID-19 kits – containing antipyretics, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) supplements, RAT kits and KN95 facemasks – to the public for back-up use.
For any enquiries, members of the public may contact the Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau (ISAF) on 85983522 or 85983504 during office hours.
This photo provided by the Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau (ISAF) yesterday shows one of its officials inspecting a local pharmacy.
