All masks have been requisitioned and can be sold only under medical prescription or to health care professionals | Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images France slaps price controls on hand sanitizer Several Paris hospitals noted the theft of masks and bottles of hand sanitizer.

The French government will impose price controls on hand sanitizer to counter price-gouging, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced Wednesday.

"There are isolated cases where unacceptable prices have been charged," he said on French TV BFM Business.

Le Maire had already warned retailers on Tuesday that he's ready to take action against price spikes, and asked French authorities to launch an investigation into exorbitant pricing practices. In some cases, bottles of hand sanitizer fetch €30 in Paris.

In related news, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that the government will take over the production of protective masks and distribute them exclusively to health care workers and French patients already infected.

All masks have now been requisitioned and can be sold only under medical prescription or to health care professionals until May 31, according to the official decree published today.

Several Paris hospitals have noted the theft of at least 8,300 masks and 1,200 bottles of hand sanitizer, while some 2,000 surgical masks have reportedly gone missing at a Marseille hospital, according to France Info.

Meanwhile, the government reported today a total of 212 cases, and a total of four deaths.

The announcement comes ahead of a phone call this afternoon among G7 and eurozone finance ministries to discuss how to coordinate action to limit the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on economic growth.