Chennai, June 7 (IANS): The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Sunday asked all medical shops and pharmacies in the city to mandatorily report the details of persons buying fever drugs Paracetamol or Azithromycin.

The corporation has asked the pharmacies and medical stores to record the details, including phone numbers, contact details, symptoms of the disease from those who come to the shop to buy these medicines.

The GCC has made this mandatory under the Disaster Management Act and to step up the Covid-19 surveillance.

The Chennai Corporation had earlier called upon all private clinics, scan centres, and hospitals to share details of patients who had approached them with fever and other symptoms like common cold and influenza.

According to the GCC Commissioner, Gagan Singh Bedi, the order was issued under Section 30(2)(5)(6) of the Disaster Management Act. The Tamil Nadu Covid-19 2020 regulations have made it mandatory that all medical institutions, including hospitals, scan centres, private clinics, and pharmacies should immediately report all suspected Covid cases to the Greater Chennai Corporation.

During the first wave of the pandemic as well, the GCC had asked the pharmacies and medical shops to share the details of those who buy paracetamol and other fever drugs. However, the shops did not share the details regularly. This has led to the GCC making it mandatory that all such shops report the details and that action would be taken under the Disaster Management Act if the order is not complied with.