Some drug buyers in Taiwan are looking to ship or bring the painkiller to the Chinese mainland, where Covid-19 cases and deaths have risen.

Taiwanese health officials have urged the public to avoid bulk buying Panadol and sending them overseas, as pharmacy shelves across the island are being cleared of the medicine.

“We would like to remind everyone that they should only buy drugs like Panadol in moderation, according to their needs,” said Dr Victor Wang, head of the Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC), who noted that people have been purchasing it in large quantities until there is “almost none left” on store shelves.

The authorities have contacted the manufacturer to request an increase in supplies to meet demand, he added at a press conference on Monday (Dec 20).

While Dr Wang did not mention China, it is believed that some customers have been sending boxes of the medicine across the Taiwan Strait for friends and relatives who are currently facing a Covid-19 wave.

Some Taiwanese social media users say they know of people doing so.

“A Chinese wife living in my neighbourhood has been buying a lot of Panadol to send back to her home town,” a YouTube comment read.

Pharmacy shelves in Beijing have been emptied of antigen test kits, face masks and fever medication amid a surge of virus cases after China abruptly lifted its strict Covid-19 restrictions earlier in December.

Some drug buyers in Taiwan are looking to ship the painkiller or take it to mainland China, where Covid-19 cases and deaths have risen after China eased its zero-Covid restrictions.

“I plan to buy a variety of medicines that can help fight Covid when I return to work in Shenzhen,” said Lee, a Taiwanese entrepreneur who only gave his last name and runs a cross-border e-commerce business in the country. Chinese southeastern city. “I even plan to resell some of the drugs to my friends.”

Chang, a Taiwanese product designer who works in Beijing and is currently vacationing in Taipei, said he planned to buy fever drugs and rapid antigen test kits before returning to work early next year. “I think there is a high chance that I will get infected after my return to Beijing, so I think I would prepare some medicine to avoid all the hecticness I may experience getting drugs.”

China is doing everything it can to ensure stable drug supplies after ending its nationwide zero-Covid policy. Authorities have introduced measures to properly allocate medical resources, including requisitioning the production of medical supplies.