The state government on Saturday said that only Covid-19 patients in home isolation or quarantine and patients with other medical conditions will be entitled to buy medical oxygen IP (Indian pharmacopoeia) against a doctor’s prescription.
The department of health and family welfare in a government notification stated that several cases of hoarding and sale of medical oxygen cylinders to general public without a valid prescription of a medical doctor have been reported across the state, prompting the department to issue the notification.
Reported incidents of Covid deaths because of scarcity of oxygen in parts of the country have led many to believe that oxygen cylinders need to be stored at home for an emergency. The sudden demand of oxygen cylinders in the market has also reportedly encouraged some people to procure the medical oxygen in large quantities from retailers and pharmacies and sell them to people in distress at a higher cost, illegally.
Senior officers in Lalbazar said all police stations and the enforcement branch of the city police have been alerted to prevent hoarding in the city.
According to the rulebook, license-holding distributors and pharmacies can sell or let out oxygen cylinders or refill them only after checking valid prescriptions of registered medical practitioners.
However, in reality, alleged lack of prosecution by the law enforcement agencies and absence of regular checks on distributors’ stocks on one hand and blackmarketeers on the other, often lead to man-made crises in the market.
During last year’s lockdown, several people had been arrested for hoarding essential commodities like rice, soy chunks, pulses and sanitisers — that were most in demand when only stores selling essential supplies were allowed to operate. Several shops selling essential commodities like soap and grains were robbed in the city.
“It is important to keep a check (on blackmarketeers) to prevent hoarding before the situation goes out of hand. Often, such crisis situations are created when hoarders stockpile essentials and emergency commodities to sell them in the blackmarket,” said a senior police officer.
Hoarding or the offence of stocking, selling and transporting medical oxygen cylinders without valid permit and prescription of the medical doctor, will be punished under Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945, IPC and Epidemic Act 1897 and amendments 2020, the notification also mentioned.
Case count
The total number of active Covid-19 cases in Bengal rose by 6,638 on Saturday, to 81,375. The state recorded 14,281 new infections and logged 7,584 recoveries during the day. While Calcutta recorded 2,970 new infections, North 24-Parganas reported 2,821.
