UP: High court for mass testing, suggests start from Prayagraj

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Thursday suggested the Uttar Pradesh government to do mass testing of Covid-19 in the state.
"To begin with, forming a procedure for the city of Prayagraj to undergo mass systematic testing, and if we are able to succeed in the experiment, then the rest of the district, and thereafter all the districts of the state can emulate the process," suggested the court.
Hearing a PIL about 'inhuman condition at quarantine centres and better treatment to corona positive', a division bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar directed the registrar general of this court that a copy of this order be made available to the additional chief secretary (home), UP, health secretary and also to the commissioner, DM, SSP Prayagraj within 24 hours. The court also asked the Indian Council of Medical Research to apprise it on the issue of installation of testing machines on a large-scale for testing of Covid-19 in the state, and fixed June 25 as the next date of hearing in the case.
The court, while suggesting mass testing, said, "When Prime Minister talked to chief ministers of various states, he stressed on the importance of widespread testing. If widespread testing is done then people who are not infected can go out to work fearlessly and help the country to change the sprouting economy into a lush green one. If systematic tests are done then people who are infected would not go out and would surely quarantine themselves in their homes or in the accommodations provided by the government."
During the course of hearing, additional advocate general Manish Goyal, who was representing the state government, informed the court that so far 1,865 hotspots have been identified and declared in the state. Besides, 17.06 lakh migrant labourers have been tested so far and out of them, as many as 3,950 had been found positive.