Jaipur, Apr 22 (PTI) The Rajasthan cabinet reviewed the COVID-19 situation and the shortage of oxygen and medicines in the state on Thursday and said the Centre should allocate oxygen to the states judiciously.

A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, was held in the evening, in which the arrangements for COVID management were discussed.

The preparations for the vaccination of people above the age of 18 years were also discussed at the meeting, according to a press release.

The cabinet expressed concern over the shortage of medical oxygen and Remdesivir injections in the country and stressed on an equitable allocation of these to the states, according to the release.

The members of the cabinet said under a national plan, the Centre should provide liquid medical oxygen to the states, in proportion to the number of infected patients.

"In many states, where there is a less number of active cases, the allocation of Remedesivir and liquid oxygen is higher than Rajasthan," they said.

The cabinet was informed that on April 21, Rajasthan was allocated only 26,500 Remdesivir injections, while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh got 1.63 lakh and 92,200 injections respectively, despite having less active cases than Rajasthan.

The cabinet also emphasised that the Centre should provide free vaccines to those in the 18-44 age group. The cabinet was informed that the chief minister has written a letter to the prime minister, urging him that the Centre should adopt the same policy for all the beneficiaries as far as vaccination is concerned.

The cabinet members also pitched for more strict restrictions in the state to contain the spread of the infection.

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