THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has capped the prices of 15 medical items, including sanitisers, PPE kits and masks, and declared them as essential items to ensure their availability and prevent fleecing.
The Food and Civil Supplies Department issued an order in this regard on Friday. There have been several complaints regarding the exorbitant rates charged and black marketing in items such as pulse oximeter and PPE kits.
Earlier, the government had capped the maximum amount that a private hospital can charge from a COVID-19 patient. The government had allowed the private hospitals to charge for PPE kits according to the maximum retail price.
The new order on capping prices is expected to streamline the prices charged by various PPE kit manufacturers.
Earlier this week, the Maharashtra government had also initiated steps to cap the prices of PPE kits and N95 masks and issued an order to manufacturers to revise the MRPs.