The Kuwaiti Ministry of Trade and Industry on Wednesday announced the closure of 14 pharmacies for violations related to hiking prices of medical face masks, as the number of coronavirus victims rises in the country.
A total of 19 pharmacies have so far been shut down for raising prices, according to a statement carried by Kuwait News Agency.
The ministry’s Commercial Control and Consumer Protection Sector received 205 calls to a special hotline and inspected 187 pharmacies and made 20 seizures.
The closures were executed on instructions from the Minister of Trade and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan who warned that more pharmacies will be closed if found to be in violation of a decision to set prices for coronavirus-related equipment at agreed levels.
The action comes as four more cases have also been reported in Kuwait – three people who had travelled from Iran and are currently under quarantine. It takes the number of cases in Kuwait up to 12.
“All patients are in stable conditions and receiving required medical care at a hospital affiliated to the ministry,” a statement from the Ministry of Health said.
Over the past two days, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman have reported 29 cases of the novel coronavirus among people returning from pilgrimages to Iran, which is battling the deadliest outbreak outside China.
The three countries have large Shiite Muslim populations who frequently travel to Iran to visit holy shrines.