Hand sanitizers have been waived off from registration due to the emergency Covid-19 situation in the country, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) said. NMRA Chairman Prof. Asitha De Silva speaking to The Morning said local manufacturers and importers of hand sanitizers have been permitted to make available products in the market provided they follow World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines stipulated for hand sanitizers. He said the NMRA has been empowered through legislation to allow the emergency use of hand sanitizers without subjecting products to registration. “When the demand for hand sanitizers sky rocketed there was no time for manufacturers and importers to go through the NMRA registration process. The legislation allows us to deal with emergency situations such as the present Covid-19 crisis.” He said, however, the NMRA checks if the sanitizers meet the required alcohol/ethanol percentage before products are permitted into the market. “We also conduct random tests on samples gathered from the market,” De Silva  added. Asked if standard certificates were issued for sanitizers, he said NMRA is only tasked with conducting registration for products and does not issue standard certificates.