“Dear customer, all of our face masks are sold out.”

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/1/30 18:53:40

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

This is what you may read when you rush hurriedly to the pharmacy recently. Most Chinese people these days have been busy buying face masks to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia which broke out in the city of Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. Since the most popular N95 masks and surgical masks have generally run out of stock, some merchants have been producing and selling counterfeit face masks. These masks are either out of date or are of very low quality. What's worse, they are sold at a high price - about 20 yuan ($2.88) each - even though it costs less than 1 yuan to make one. Obviously, counterfeit and expired face masks cannot protect people from the virus. These merchants have been taking use of people's anxiety and the increasing demand to satisfy their own interests. The State Administration for Market Regulation should cooperate with police to crack down on such an illegal act. We should also exercise our right of supervision and report the counterfeit face masks to help fight against the virus and for the sake of our own health.

Posted in: CARTOON

blog comments powered by Disqus