Egypt Watch

The black market for the masks of Corona virus grows

M.P Tareq Metwally, today, Thursday, requested a briefing to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Industry and Trade on the spread of the black market of masks and prophylactic tools of preventing the transmission of infectious diseases. Metwally said that the increase in demand to purchase masks after the spread of the Corona virus globally, led to the emergence of the black market that sells the masks at very expensive prices, as the price of one regular mask jumped to 7 pounds, after the price of it did not exceed one pound, while the price of the mask with the filter ( N 95 ) to more than 100 pounds per piece. Metwally said, “These disinfectants and masks are not manufactured according to the proper health codes and standards approved by the Ministry of Health, which warns that they may be a reason for transmitting the infection, especially that they are manufactured in unlicensed places, and the components involved in their manufacture are not known.” Metwally called for preventing masks from being exported abroad, in light of their severe shortage in the Egyptian market, and they called on the government to take the necessary measures to provide tools to prevent disease.

The Egyptian Center for the Right to Medicine warned of the spread of the black market that buys masks from companies and pharmacies and stores them for export to China to achieve great profits, which caused a significant shortage of masks and prophylactic tools. It is worth noting thatMinister of Health, Hala Zayed, travelled to China, on Sunday to deliver medical aid from Cairo to Beijing, while doctors suffer from a severe shortage of all medical supplies in all of the country’s hospitals.