Taking advantage of the pandemic that is going round the world in the wake of the epidemic Coronavirus in the fear of which people are hurrying up to get to the chemist shop to buy products such as masks and sanitisers, some sellers and distributors of sanitisers and masks are taking advantage of the situation by selling fake and in adequate products.
At a time of growing demand of the above mentioned products due to rise of Coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday raided a few companies that were making fake sanitisers which offered no real germ-killing properties. The FDA team later seized a stock of fake sanitisers worth over Rs 2 lakh from a Kandivali distributor named Riddhi Siddhi.
After investigation, the FDA learnt that the sanitisers were manufactured by a Bhiwandi company that had surrendered its license two years ago. D R Gahane, FDA assistant commissioner (drugs) said, “We found that the company was making sanitisers illegally and selling it to distributors and chemists. They have indeed violated the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and will be penalised accordingly. But since they have cooperated with the police, an FIR may not be lodged.” The officer further stated that the sanitisers were sold under the names of Biotol Cosmetics and Wiz which were completely fake as the companies were not making them.
Apart from this raid, the FDA teams also came across another firm situated in Vakola which was manufacturing fake products sold under the name of Safe Hands. Incidentally, the product claimed that it was anti-bacterial and the Sanatiser bottles carried a helpline number that was not working.
The Coronavirus that is spreading rapidly around the globe has nearly infected 73 people in India and killed more than 4,500 individuals globally. Late night on Thursday, the first confirmed case of death from Coronavirus in India was reported from Karnataka’s Kalaburgi. A 76-year-old man who had recently passed away has been confirmed as a case of Novel Coronavirus.
Informing about the same B Sriramulu, Karnataka health minister said in a tweet, “The 76-year-old man from Kalaburgi who passed away and was a suspected Covid-19 patient has been confirmed to have carried Covid-19.”
The 76 year old man from Kalburgi who passed away & was a suspected #COVID19 patient has been Confirmed for #COVID19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation & other measures as per protocol are being carried out.
— B Sriramulu (@sriramulubjp) March 12, 2020
