Expressing concern over death of police personnel, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials and pourakarmikas due to COVID-19, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday asked the State government whether it is possible to conduct random tests of personnel working in the frontline to prevent spread of COVID-19.
Though the government and the experts will have to take a call on random testing, the court said that it expects special care to protect the lives of pourakarmikas, police, doctors, healthcare workers, BBMP staff and others working working on the frontline.
A special division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Alok Aradhe made these observations while hearing PIL petitions on lapses in COVID-19 health management.
Earlier, it was pointed out to the court by advocates representing petitioners that 23 pourakarmikas working in a particular ward tested positive for COVID-19 and one pourakarmika in another ward died due to non availability of beds in a hospital. Also, a few police personnel and officials of the BBMP too have succumbed to COVID-19.
“If pourakarmikas, who serve the BBMP, are unable to get a bed for treatment, who else will get a bed?” the bench observed orally.
It was also pointed out to the court that the health of pourakarmikas is at risk with the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases as almost all wards have containment zones.
Noticing that there are more than 5,000 containment zones in the city, and waste collected from the houses in these zones will have to be be treated not as municipal solid waste but biomedical waste, the bench asked the government and the BBMP to ensure that proper personal protective equipment, as per the SOP, is provided to pourakarmikas.