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After a reporter from Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper dropped by some drug stores in the city on the afternoon of March 1, he recorded a scarcity of test kits. Covid-19 rapid test kits have run short at multiple drug shops. For instance, a store assistant at a drug store on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 3 said that for more than a week now, the shop has been running short of Covid-19 quick test kits lately.
Moreover, the price of the item went up drastically. Specifically, Korean –made test kits were previously priced at VND 83,000 a set, it has increased to VND90,000 a set, even in some places it is being sold at VND110,000 a set. Test kits from France, Japan surged from VND100,000 - VND150,000 a set to VND175,000 to VND300,000 a set.
Chief of Office of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai said that the department received many complaints about this issue. Currently, the inspectorate from Ho Chi Minh City paid unscheduled visits to drug establishments three times while their peers from the Department of Health have inspected drug shops six times to check sales of test kits.
In Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highlands Province of Dak Lak, many drug stores on Ngo Quyen Street are running short of test kits. One of the biggest pharmacies in Buon Ma Thuot city announced that each person can only buy two sets.
According to a leader of the Market Management Department of Dak Lak province, the demand for buying test kits, masks, and antiseptic water is very huge if the Covid-19 epidemic continues to develop complicatedly like the present.
