The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to check the hoarding of essential and life-saving drugs amid a record spike in COVID-19 cases.
While hearing a petition concerning the COVID-19 situation in the national capital, the High Court asked the Centre to act against those who are hoarding medicines and directed the government to come out with some rules.
The High Court also directed the Central government to interact with the manufacturers, patent holders and licensees to ramp up the capacity of reportedly useful drugs like lvermectin, Dexamethasone and Prednisolone.
It also said that the Centre or the Drug Controller should not hesitate to invoke their power under the Patent Act since the lives are being lost at a very fast pace. The lives of people should be a "priority" over everything else, it said.
The High Court also raised concerns over vaccine wastage and said, "We are wasting precious time."
In the last 24 hours, 240 people have died -- the highest-ever registered in a single day in the national capital - and 23,686 fresh coronavirus infections were reported. There are currently 76,887 active cases in Delhi.
The Delhi government has imposed a six-day lockdown amid the deteriorating COVID-19 situation.
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