South Africa
Dis-Chem closes #COVID19 testing facilities─── 15:39 Fri, 10 Jul 2020
Dis-Chem has closed its COVID-19 testing facilities.
The retail pharmacy said that it had decided on this move because of backlogs in obtaining test results from laboratories.
It hasn't said when testing would resume but has cited Gauteng as an area of concern, with the province putting a severe strain on resources.
Gauteng COVID-19 numbers have seen a sharp rise in recent weeks.
This week alone, the province recorded more than 14,000 cases.
Earlier this week, the Competition Tribunal has found Dis-Chem pharmacies guilty of contravening the Competition Act by selling surgical face masks at excessive prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The retail group was ordered to pay an administrative penalty of over R1 million.
Dis-Chem is said to have hiked the price by between 43% and 261%.
The tribunal said that the company abused its dominance when it hiked the prices.
The group has indicated that it will appeal the decision by the tribunal, on the grounds that it believes the verdict contained errors of fact and law.
Dis-Chem said it would approach the Competition Appeals Court.
