The rising alarm over COVID-19 spreading in China was felt in pharmacies in Hong Kong, Macau, and in some neighbourhoods in Australia, as people hunted for fever medicines and virus test kits to send to family and friends on the mainland. China's sudden easing of strict COVID rules last week triggered a surge in demand for these items on the mainland, with queues forming outside pharmacies and online platforms quickly selling out. Several shops have since imposed limits on how much customers can buy, and drugmakers are ramping up production. "Chinese people like to hoard things. How could there be…