Jharkhand on Thursday got 15,150 vials of Remdesivir, a vital medicine in the treatment of Covid-19, from the Centre.

According to sources in the state health department, the allocation from the Centre has been made to 19 states with a high burden of Covid-19 cases.

“Jharkhand has got 10,000 vials from Zydus Cadilla, 1,650 vials from Hetero Pharmaceuticals, 500 vials from Mylan, 2,000 vials from Cipla and 1,000 vials from Jubilant. The allotment is for a period between April 21 and 30. The vials have been distributed to 71 hospitals of the state, which were having the maximum load of Covid cases,” said a senior health department official.

Sources said Ranchi got the maximum allocation of Remdesivir with 43 hospitals being given the vials.

Four hospitals each in Deoghar, Dhanbad and Ramgarh have also received the vials. This apart, three hospitals each in East Singhbhum (Jamshedpur) and Seraikela-Kharsawan, two each in Bokaro and Hazaribagh, one each in Giridih, Gumla, Godda, Koderma, Lohardaga and Palamau have also got Remdesivir.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren had on April 18 written to Union minister

for chemicals and fertilisers D. V. Sadananda Gowda for permission to import and use Remdesivir from a pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh after the Centre failed to supply adequate quantity of the antiviral drug to the state.

“The precariousness of the situation will be evident from the fact that against the total order of 76,640 vials to the Union government, Jharkhand has received only 8,038 vials of Remdesivir, leading to the medicine not being administered to many needy patients,” Soren had written to the Union minister.

Covid samples being collected from commuters in Jamshedpur on Thursday. Shabbir Hussain and Bhola Prasad

After a high level meeting with health officials and other senior bureaucrats on Wednesday evening, the chief minister had issued a directive to ramp up oxygen-attached bed facilities in all the 24 districts for proper treatment of Covid cases.

“After the ramping up of oxygen- supported bed facilities, the state has now an additional 1824 oxygen supported beds. This apart, in capital Ranchi which is witnessing maximum load of Covid cases in the district, with people from even rural areas flocking to capital, we have made arrangement of additional 300 oxygen supported bed and planning is underway to enhance facility to add 300 more oxygen supported bed in Ranchi,” the chief minister had tweeted on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday evening, Hemant had held a meeting with senior army officials deputed in Jharkhand to seek their help in the state’s fight against Covid.

“I made an appeal to the army officials to help us cope with the situation emerging out of Covid-19 so that patients can be treated in the two army hospitals at Namkum (in Ranchi) and Ramgarh. The government will be providing all infrastructure to the army hospitals, including oxygen-supported beds, ventilators and other accessories if the doctors start treating Covid patients. We will benefit from the treatment of experienced doctors at the army hospital,” Soren said.

The chief minister also sought the army’s help in monitoring and taking care of Covid patients in the new 1,000-bed isolation centre being set up in Ranchi.

The army officials said the Union defence ministry was considering the chief minister’s letter seeking help of army hospital doctors and paramedics in the treatment of Covid cases.

On April 17, Hemant had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to allow the use of doctors and paramedics associated with the Central Para Military Forces stationed in Jharkhand and military hospitals to help the state fight the pandemic.

On Thursday evening, Hemant held a videoconference with the principals of six medical colleges and medical superintendents and representatives of private hospitals and advised them to coordinate with the government in developing a circuit so that patients did not flock to Ranchi and other big cities for the treatment of Covid.

“We are seeing that RIMS in Ranchi is witnessing an unprecedented rush in Covid cases. We would like to seek help from the other medical colleges and private hospitals so that patients from nearby places are treated at their facility and do not have to come all the way to Ranchi. We need to develop a circuit so that patients go to the nearest hospitals,” Hemant said.

On Wednesday, the state had registered 5,041 positive cases and 62 deaths, taking the total number of active cases to 35,826.

Meanwhile, the state on Thursday saw the first day of the weeklong lockdown with district administration in all 24 districts ensuring that the public only came out on road for emergencies and purchasing essentials.