COVID-19 crisis: Chemists asked to keep record of people seeking medicines for fever, cough

In the wake of rising coronavirus cases, authorities in several states have asked medical shops and pharmacists to keep a record of phone number and address of customers who buy medicines for fever, cough and cold -symptoms similar to COVID-19.

Advisories have been issued in this regard to chemists in states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and parts of Bihar. While in some states the officials have been clear that the information will be shared with authorities to ensure that people are not hiding symptoms of coronavirus, others said it was just a precautionary measure.

In a memo to all municipal commissioners and additional collectors of districts, Telangana's Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development)Arvind Kumar said it has been observed that due to "hesitation and perceived social stigma", people suffering from fever or cold symptoms which might be similar to coronavirus are approaching the medical shops directly on their own and ...