【明報專訊】THE Hospital Authority's stockpile of surgical face masks has depleted so rapidly that it will only last for a month. Scenes of people forming long queues to purchase face masks have nearly become everyday life in the city, and the problems of hoarding and price-gouging are serious. A heated debate has started over whether the government should enact legislation to regulate epidemic prevention supplies like surgical masks and to crack down on the hoarding and price-gouging of such supplies. The shortage of face masks has given rise to many sorts of disorder in society. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. It is not the time to be constrained by the myths of the free market now. While the appropriateness of regulation through legislation is open to discussion, the government should at least do something about the problem rather than sit on the sidelines.