Chinese authorities are cracking down on greedy retailers driving up the prices of protective masks as coronavirus grips the country, regulators said Wednesday.

Beijing’s regulatory officials said that they’ve investigating 31 reports since Thursday of price-hiking with the protective gear.

One vendor in the Chinese capital was fined around $434,530 for charging up to six times the going rate for the masks, officials said.

The Beijing Jimin Kangtai Pharmacy was penalized after it raised the price of a box of masks to 850 yuan ($122), up from the 143 yuan ($20) being charged online, state television said.

Meanwhile, Shanghai officials shuttered drug store after it sold sub-standard masks, the local government said. The store was ordered to refund buyers and toss out its unsold inventory.

The violations come as Chinese residents are lining up outside of stores to buy the masks to help protect themselves against the deadly illness that has killed more than 120 people and infected 6,000 more patients.

With Post wires