The Madhya Pradesh government has ordered a 'corona curfew' in the state capital Bhopal to counter the recent surge in Covid-19 cases. The curfew has been enforced from April 12, 9 PM till April 19, 6 am.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while interacting with the media has said that the crisis of Remdesivir injection will be over in the next two to three days. There is an adequate arrangement of oxygen in the state, it is being reviewed every day.

As per the order, essential services will be exempted from the corona curfew, including healthcare services, the Covid-19 vaccination, exams, health services, travellers going to the airport, bus stops and railway stations and other essential services.

Earlier this month, the Madhya Pradesh government decided to enforce night curfews and weekend lockdowns in parts of the state witnessing a surge in new cases of infection. Madhya Pradesh Monday reported 6,489 fresh coronavirus positive cases, while 37 patients succumbed to the infection.

Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry said, India is witnessing a recent surge in COVID cases and there are over 11 lakh active COVID cases. This has led to a sudden spike in demand for injection Remdesivir used in the treatment of COVID patients. The Ministry said, there is a potential for a further increase in this demand in the coming days.

The Ministry said all domestic manufactures of Remdesivir have been advised to display on their website, details of their stockists and distributors to facilitate access to the drug. It said Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks and check their malpractices and also take other effective actions to curb hoarding and black marketing. The State Health Secretaries will review this with the Drug Inspectors of the respective States and Union Territories. The Ministry said, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has been in contact with the domestic manufacturers to ramp up the production of Remdesivir.

The Central Government has also advised the States that the extant National Clinical Management Protocol for COVID-19, has been developed after many interactions by the Committee of Experts, and is the guiding document for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. In the Protocol, Remdesivir is listed as an Investigational Therapy, where informed and shared decision making is essential, besides taking note of contraindications mentioned in the detailed guidelines. The States and UTs have been advised that these steps should again be communicated to all hospitals, both in the public and private sector, and compliance monitored.
 
Seven Indian companies are producing injection Remdesivir under a voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, USA. They have an installed capacity of about 38 lakh 80 thousand units per month.