For chemists, drug suppliers and to some extent manufacturers of medicines the lockdown holds no meaning as they continue to work as usual though with increased risk factor and handling unprecedented rush of customers. It is a common site for the last over six days that there are long queues outside the chemist shops with people belonging to all hues of life hording to fetch medicines as government assurance on maintaining regular supplies somehow failed to impress many and they are taking no chances. The panic buying of drugs has left several medicine racks of these shops running low on even regular stocks. Though, lately masks and sanitisers have been made available with new and unknown brands flooding the market. Earlier, with the sudden rise of COVID-19 positive cases across the country, face masks and sanitisers had vanished from the market as people bought the same frantically. The need of the time is that government should become proactive ensuring unabated supply of life saving medicines especially that meant for cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, etc. On the other hand, those dedicated chemists who are braving the testing times and providing drugs to their customers also need to take extra precautions with regard to coronavirus. Washing hands frequently, applying sanitiser on regular basis and wearing all safety gears is the Mantra for them to keep the fatal virus away. There is no room for them to act carelessly at this juncture especially when their customers are one way or the other linked to diseases, rather they should act as harbinger to motivate those coming to their shops to remain cautious and fortify themselves against COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 which is a major challenge confronting world today and WHO has categorically asserted that to tackle corona right now only precautions are the workable solution including social and physical distancing.
