Hoarding, profiteering of surgical masks banned, court told.

LAHORE -- The Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department on Monday told the Lahore High Court that the government has imposed a ban on hoarding and profiteering of surgical face masks in the wake of their demand amid the coronavirus threat.

In a written reply submitted to the court, the department said the provincial government also imposed a ban on personal protective equipments throughout the province for two months.

It said that first information reports were being registered against the hoarders and profiteers under Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act 1977 and other laws.

About public awareness campaigns, the reply said the department secretary had widely circulated preventive measures through social, electronic and print media for coronavirus epidemic and that wearing a mask was not necessary for healthy people. It said the surgical masks were available on controlled rates at 833 pharmacies in the province.

After going through the reply, Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh asked a government law officer whether advertisements had been aired on television channels for awareness.

The law officer said airing...