An unusual wave of Covid cases in China has triggered panic buying of fever drugs, pain relievers, and even home cures like canned peaches, resulting in online and in-store shortages, CNN reported.
Authorities announced on Wednesday that 2,249 symptomatic Covid-19 cases had been identified across the country using nucleic acid testing, with the capital Beijing accounting for 20% of the total. According to CNN's reports from the city, the case count in the Chinese capital might be substantially higher than documented.
Fever and cold medications, such as Tylenol and Advil, are in high demand across the country as people hoard them over worries of contracting the virus.
Canned yellow peaches, a highly healthy delicacy in many regions of China, have been purchased by individuals searching for strategies to combat Covid. Many online stores are presently sold out of the goods.
Because of its rapid popularity, Dalian Leasun Food, one of the country's top canned food makers, clarified in a Weibo post that canned yellow peaches had no therapeutic value.
The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, likewise endeavoured to put the facts right. On Sunday, it issued a lengthy Weibo post advising people not to hoard peaches, calling them "useless in relieving symptoms of disease."
Authorities also urged people not to hoard medical supplies. The Beijing municipal administration warned citizens on Monday that it was under "severe strain" to satisfy demand for drugs and medical services due to panic purchasing and an influx of patients at clinics.
It encouraged people not to stockpile medications or phone 911 if they had no symptoms.
Rising demand and a scarcity of Covid treatments have driven wagers on drugmakers.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Xinhua Pharmaceutical, China's largest ibuprofen maker, have increased by 60% in the last five days. In the first two weeks of this month, the stock had risen 147%.
“Our company’s production lines are operating at full capacity, and we are working overtime to produce urgently needed medicines, such as ibuprofen tablets,” Xinhua Pharmaceutical said Monday, CNN reported.
Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory medication that is used to relieve pain and fever. It is also referred to as Advil, Brufen, or Fenbid.
The medicine scarcity has moved from mainland China to Hong Kong, a special administrative area with its own local government structure. On Sunday, the city's health official warned citizens not to panic buy cold drugs they don't need and to "not overreact."
Fever medications such as Panadol, the local brand name for Tylenol, have sold out in certain Hong Kong drugstores. According to sales agents, the majority of purchasers were shipping the medications to family and friends on the mainland.
Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceuticals, a Shenzhen-listed company known for producing cough syrup, has gained 21% this week and 51% so far this month. Yiling Pharmaceutical, the sole manufacturer of Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medication authorised by the government for the treatment of Covid, has also increased its stock by more than 30% in the last month.
Even suppliers of funeral services and burial grounds have seen significant growth. Shares in Hong Kong-traded Fu Shou Yuan International, China's largest burial service firm, have surged more than 50% since last month.
According to Citi Group analysts in a recent research study, there is "high pent-up demand for burial sites" in 2023, with increased investor interest in the industry.