Co-ops asked to make available sanitizing materials

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Ministry team shuts Farwaniya warehouse hoarding 169,000 surgical masks for profit

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 29: Ministry of Social Affairs Undersecretary Abdul-Aziz Shuaib disclosed that the ministry has been coordinating with the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies (UCCS) against the spread of coronavirus by issuing a circular to cooperative societies on the need to make available sanitizing materials.

The undersecretary declared the materials to be made available include medical gloves, sterilizing media and damp sterilized tissue papers. He expected those materials to be received through companies authorized by the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies and relevant local manufacturers. The ministry also ordered the suspension of all activities until further notice.

Meanwhile inspection teams from the Ministry of Trade and Industry seized a warehouse in Farwaniya containing 169,000 masks upon investigations by teams from the trade control sector and consumer protection supervised by officials of the ministry since the beginning of the process, reports Al- Seyassah daily.

In a statement, the ministry indicated the store was placed under surveillance by the ministry’s inspection teams and the quantity was confiscated and preserved. It noted the warehouse in question, which is also a distributor to a number of sales centers, was closed and legal measures taken against them.

Ministry of Trade affirmed it would not hesitate to apply the law against any party that takes advantage of the current circumstances of the country, and that inspection teams are working around the clock to ensure that violators are nabbed.

The ministry previously announced the closure of three pharmacies and a store due to noncompliance with the ministerial decision that sets prices for selling medical masks and some medical supplies and disinfectants.

The ministry in a statement said inspection teams from the Trade Control and Consumer Protection Sector received 218 calls via hotline 135 the day before yesterday, indicating its teams inspected a number of stores and warehouses to know the available quantities of medical masks, in addition to 85 pharmacies and a commercial center.

The inspection campaigns resulted in the issuance of violation citations against three pharmacies and a store, the closure of three pharmacies for selling medical supplies at a hiked price, and failure to adhere to the ministry’s warnings on taking advantage of the current situation amid government’s precautions on preventing the emerging coronavirus. Trade teams also seized 1,165 tablets, which were concealed in a warehouse at Mubarakiya, and issued a violation and closed it.

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