Sending a clear message to those hoarding Remdesivir, one of the promising drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that stringent legal action would be initiated against those who stock the medicine to create artificial scarcity and then, sell it at inflated prices.
“Health and Family Welfare Minister K. Sudhakar has made it clear that there is no dearth of Remdesivir in the State. Yet, there are complaints that some people are stocking the drug to create artificial scarcity and sell it for a higher price. Our government has considered the allegations seriously. We will take stringent action against those who are involved in such activities,” he said in his interaction with presspersons in Humnabad, Bidar district, on Thursday. The Home Minister was on his way to Basavakalyan for participating in the party’s byelection campaign.
“Our government faced a lot of problems last year during the outbreak of COVID-19. Now, we have taken a lot of precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus. We have put all the necessary infrastructure in place. Our hospitals are better equipped for handling the COVID-19 crisis. There is no scarcity of drugs for treating COVID-19 patients either... We will convene a meeting of senior police officers in Bengaluru on Friday to discuss the steps to be taken for protecting the police force from the pandemic and also the services that the Police Department could offer in curbing the disease. We will come up with detailed guidelines for police personnel,” Mr. Bommai said.
When asked, Mr. Bommai said that night curfew which was in force in a few districts that had reported a high number of COVID-19 cases would be extended to other districts if the cases went up there.
“We have already taken lockdown-like steps, including the imposition of night curfew in certain districts, to contain the spread of the pandemic. If the need arises, we will extend night curfew to other districts also. The pandemic is widespread in neighbouring Maharashtra and we have asked our officers to keep a close vigil on the Maharashtra border and check people entering the State from there. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is going to hold an all-party meeting on Sunday to discuss the steps to be taken for controlling the spread of the pandemic. After taking opinion from the other parties, we will finalise our next step,” the Home Minister said.
