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Reuters
Reuters
Business
By Stella Qiu and Sophie Yu

China's COVID scare sparks run on flu medicines, test kits as far away as Australia

Australia China Hong Kong Lo Chungmau Beijing Covid-19 Macau
FILE PHOTO: People stand in a queue to purchase medicines at a pharmacy in Beijing, China December 14, 2022, in this screen grab taken from a Reuters TV video. REUTERS TV via REUTERS/File Photo

The rising alarm over COVID-19 spreading in China was felt in pharmacies in Hong Kong, Macau, and in some neighbourhoods in Australia, as people hunted for fever medicines and virus test kits to send to family and friends on the mainland.

China's sudden easing of strict COVID rules last week triggered a surge in demand for these items on the mainland, with queues forming outside pharmacies and online platforms quickly selling out.

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