Mumbai, March 9: As 45 Coronavirus cases have been reported in India, demand for hand sanitizers and face masks have increased as people are stocking up amid COVID-19 outbreak. Demand for sanitizers and masks have surged in the last few days as health officials advised citizens to follow basic protective measures. Taking advantage of the situation, Mumbai ragpickers were caught recycling used face masks. Coronavirus: Pharmacist Held for Stealing Face Masks, Injections and Tablets in Maharashtra's Pune Amid COVID-19 Scare.

Mumbai ragpickers have been found washing and reselling used face masks and selling them for a profit amid growing novel coronavirus fears. Pictures, which were taken by Mumbai Mirror Journalist Lata Mishra, shows loads of old masks being washed before selling them as if they were new. Chemist Shops Run out of Hand Sanitizers, Face Masks in Parts of Delhi-NCR Amid COVID-19 Scare.

Mumbai Ragpickers Resell Old Face Masks:

In view of the recent epidemic, some medical stores are also selling hand sanitisers and face masks at inflated rates. Recently, the drug department conducted raids at several medical outlets in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. Licenses of five medical stores were suspended for charging exorbitant prices of these two items. A pharmacist in Maharashtra's Pune was also held for stealing masks, injections, tablets worth Rs 35,750.

In India, 45 confirmed cases of the deadly virus have been reported so far. There are now more than one lakh cases of coronavirus across the world. Over 3,800 people have also died from the virus that has infected every continent, except Antarctica. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised people to maintain basic safety measures such as washing hands with soap or hand sanitizers to protect themselves against novel Coronavirus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2020 08:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).