Jharkhand HC directs state to ask Centre for PPEs, test kits

Sanjay Sahay | TNN | Updated: Apr 8, 2020, 11:45 IST

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RANCHI: The Jharkhand high court on Tuesday directed the state government to request the Centre to supply additional medical equipment as per requirement to handle the novel coronavirus outbreak. The court also directed the Centre to take appropriate decision in this regard.
A high court division bench comprising chief justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and justice SN Prasad passed the order while hearing a PIL through video conferencing. During the hearing, advocate general Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that the state has demanded 75,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, 300 ventilators and 10,000 testing kits from the Centre, which has not been provided yet. “At present, the state government has 5,000 PPE and testing kits each,” he said.
Ranjan further informed the court that a large number of migrant workers are expected to return home once the lockdown is lifted and this could result in a spike in Covid-19 cases in Jharkhand. The state must be fully prepared for any emergent situation, the court said, stressing on the need for training the medical staff to meet the challenges in the future. The state government assured that it will look into the matter. The next hearing in the case is on April 17.
Talking to the media, Ranjan said, “I informed the court that 1.69 lakh persons who came to the state from different parts of the country were screened. Of them, as many as 14,200 persons were put under government quarantine and 1.43 lakh under home quarantine.”
Lawyer Indrajit Sinha, whose letter led to the institution of the PIL, said, “During the hearing, the court wanted to know how the government will test the large number of people kept under quarantine. The court also asked why the administration was unable to implement a complete lockdown in Hindpiri area of Ranchi where two Covid-19 patients have been found. The court has directed the state to take adequate steps.”