Expressing concern over the panic created by the shortage of Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug, Maharashtra's COVID-19 task force has said that it was not a life-saving medicine in coronavirus treatment, and strongly advised against its "rampant and irrational abuse".

The task force also suggested that medical oxygen should be used judiciously during the coronavirus pandemic. The task force, headed by Dr Sanjay Oak, made these observations in the advisory it issued after its meeting held on Monday. Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug in coronavirus and it is helpful during the second to ninth day of illness and not thereafter, it said.