SC seeks centre, state response on rapid antibody tests

Nagpur: The Supreme Court has sought a response on use of rapid antibody test kits for Covid-19 on asymptomatic patients from centre, state and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).
The directives came while hearing a petition filed by Citizens Forum for Equality president Madhukar Kukde challenging Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court’s orders which had disposed of the plea without any specific directives to the respondents and leaving it on them to take a decision in this regard.
The special leave petition (SLP) was listed before a bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah.
Pleading on petitioner’s behalf, counsels Tushar Mandlekar, Rohan Malviya and Rishi Jain informed the apex court that guidelines were issued by ICMR for conducting RT-PCR tests on front-line warriors on July 16.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta argued for union of India and ICMR while Balram Das held brief for the Maharashtra government.
Mandlekar pointed out that in spite of Covid-19 cases spiralling in the country, ICMR and state government are neither conducting rapid tests for citizens nor fixing the bare minimum price of kits. He argued that rapid test is cheap and quick in nature and is very useful in detecting antibodies in infected human beings. He also urged to secure 50% beds in private hospitals for Covid-19 patients.
The SC bench directed petitioner to serve petition copies to respondents and sought response from respective counsels within two weeks.
The petitioner prayed for conducting rapid antibody test on all front-line workers, including doctors, police, pharmacists and para-medical staff.
Earlier, city-based pulmonologist Dr Rajesh Swarnakar had filed an SLP in the top court praying for mandatorily starting the rapid antibody test as a screening tool for detecting Covid-19 virus.
According to him, the ICMR had directed to start the tests in clusters with containment zones and in large migration gatherings for screening and surveillance.