Demand for medical safety kits soars

Apart from medical professionals and health facilities, the demand for medical safety products soars among private organisations and residents in Dhaka city following an increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Different emergency service providers and even the general public are on the hunt for personal protective equipment (PPE) to wear in the workplace to avoid contact with coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

As the preliminary demand for PPE and other medical safety gears in health facilities have somewhat been met, insiders said, many traders are selling such products, mostly via Facebook pages.

Organisations like bank, drugstores, grocery shops, internet service providers, media houses, online shops and food delivery platforms are collecting such safety products for their workers from the local market.

Salespersons at some chain drugstores like Lazz Pharma, Q Pharma and AKS Pharmacy are seen wearing PPE as they provide services to customers round the clock.

Matin Abdullah, manager at the Rampura bazar outlet of Lazz Pharma, said they have nine salespersons at the shop who are constantly coming into contact with customers.

"Close contact raises the chance of getting infected from an affected person, so we've tried to provide PPE to our salespersons," he told the FE.

SM Riazul Islam, a banker, said he has to deal with clients directly at a cash counter, thus exposing himself to a risk of getting infected with coronavirus.

"I personally collected two sets of reusable PPE each for the safety of mine and my family members," he told the FE.

On March 22, the National Board of Revenue issued a statutory regulatory order waiving all taxes on import of safety kits and raw materials until June 30.

The customs authorities exempted duty on the import of PPE, raw materials of hand sanitiser, testing kit, testing reagent, surgical mask and disinfectant for sterilising coronavirus.

The move has encouraged many companies to come forward to manufacture or import medical safety products.

Amid PPE shortages for frontline medical personnel in fighting coronavirus, Marks & Spencer Bangladesh on March 23 distributed 400,000 pieces of the equipment among physicians for free.

Five other ready-made garment factories-Urmi Group, Snowtex, Aman Group, Dekko Group and Smartex Group-are also manufacturing PPE, mostly for the government.

Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) has also come forward to prepare PPE, sanitiser, mask and medicine to meet the growing local demand to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Medical equipment is being produced following the guidelines of the World Health Organisation and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, according to a recent BSCIC statement.

Meanwhile, health minister Zahid Maleque recently said the government has distributed an estimated 400,000 protective equipment to various hospitals countrywide.

Some 500,000 more have been ordered from abroad, which will enter the country by April, he mentioned.

Many private entities have also imported or locally sourced large quantities of PPE and other safety products for donation and doing business as well.

Facebook-based shop 'Sell Bitan' sells PPE of different qualities at Tk 900-1,750 per piece.

It also sells hand gloves (plastic) Tk 180 and surgical Tk 1,000, surgical mask Tk 2,400, and disposable bouffant caps Tk 1,000 per hundred pieces.

Another Facebook page, Saiful Express, sells only reusable PPE at Tk 650 a piece, said owner Saiful Islam.

RFL Best Buy is also selling PPE at its showrooms and offers home delivery, said an official of the company.

It retails a PPE set at Tk 450 a piece, medical apron at Tk 75, face mask at Tk 15, hand gloves Tk 1,000 per box (100 pieces).

Best Buy also sells non-woven shoe cover at Tk 370 per box (100 pieces) and mop cap Tk 280 per box.

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