Saudi authorities have seized more than five million medical masks that were illegally stockpiled amid the coronavirus outbreak, state media has reported, as the death toll in the kingdom doubled.

The commerce ministry seized 1.17 million masks from a private store in Hail, northwest of the capital Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday.

On Wednesday, authorities confiscated more than four million masks stored in a facility in the western city of Jeddah, in violation of commercial regulations.

The ministry said people behind such activities would be prosecuted and that the confiscated masks would be redistributed to the open market.

Pharmacies in the oil-rich kingdom have reported shortages of masks amid panic buying, as authorities warned against hoarding and price hikes, AFP reported.

Saudi Arabia is scrambling to limit the spread of the deadly disease at home.

The health ministry on Sunday said the death toll from Covid-19 had doubled to eight, as cumulative infections rose from 1,203 to 1,299 – the highest in the Gulf region.

Source: Middle East Eye