Remdesivir counters in Madurai, Kovai soon

Recording the submission by P Umanath, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC), in this regard, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said, “As to the black marketing of drugs, certain measures have been taken as indicated by the officials. There must be strict control in such regard and absolutely no let-up.” 

The bench also recorded the State’s submission that measures were being taken, including at the behest of the new dispensation that is to take charge on Friday, to set up centres in other major cities, including Madurai and Coimbatore, for release of Remdesivir directly to private hospitals or patients. 

The court was also told that while the quantity of the medicine allocated for the State since April is 1.35 lakh units against an order of 2.5 lakh units, about 24,000 units have been distributed from the counter at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital to those who produced prescribed documents. 

It was also submitted that the State had in stock 315 vials of another important drug, Tocilizumab, which is used only for critical patients. Of these, 20 vials have been supplied to private hospitals after conducting appropriate verification of the details furnished. 

During the suo motu proceeding, the bench also observed: “Both Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry have indicated that additional measures have been taken such that even though a formal lockdown may not have been clamped, many restrictions have been put in place, including in the running of the suburban trains and the like, to ensure that over the next two weeks or so the contact may be less and the spread of the virus at an alarming rate may be arrested.”