Telangana finally wins HC’s praise for its fight against COVID-19

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Thursday appreciated the efforts of the State government and its medical fraternity in curtailing the spread of the deadly novel Coronavirus in the State.Encouraging the government to continue its efforts and safeguard the people from the onslaught of Covid-19, a division bench of the High Court asked it to implement the remaining court orders by September 4.“Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) had stated that the pandemic is yet to peak in India. This statement is certainly startling as most of us believe that we have taken all precautions against Covid-19. But it seems that it is going to be a long-drawn battle with the virus,” the bench cautioned.

It further observed: “The court has no intention to criticise the government or demoralise its officials. Its intention was only to rectify lapses in tackling the menace. Needless to say that we are convinced to a large extent about the efforts put in by the State government in tackling Covid-19. Most of the court directions have been complied with, but only a few still need to be implemented. To a great extent, the State government has succeeded in tackling the menace. This court certainly appreciates the efforts made by the government officials and the medical fraternity’s consistent struggle”.

Isolation centres

The bench directed the government to examine the applications filed by NGOs with regard to establishing isolation centres, and take a decision within two weeks. The State has to consider opening a Covid-19 centre in one of the stadia in Hyderabad by involving NGOs and civil societies, like Delhi did, the bench said.

Pursuant to an earlier direction, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other senior officials appeared via video-conference before the bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy. The bench was dealing with a batch of PILs which sought directions to the government to provide medical equipment, medicines and trained staff to all Covid hospitals.

After submitting a report before the court, explaining the steps taken to contain the infection, the Chief Secretary informed it that the State is not concealing or suppressing any information from the court. The official machinery is collecting information on Covid-19 from about 1,100 locations, and it will take a considerable period of time in amalgamating the information and disseminating it to the court. The government is implementing the court’s earlier directions too, he said.

Media bulletins

Also, media bulletins on Covid-19 are being issued on a daily basis, both in English and Telugu. Since August 3, about 1.78 lakh tests were conducted, of which 50,662 were primary contacts and 42,210 secondary. Due to the disease’s high rate of incidence among those between 21 and 50 years old, such people have been alerted.

The bench directed the government to continue publishing the advisory with regard to the 21-50 age group. Even the number of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients tested should be indicated in the media bulletins, along with the number of primary and secondary contacts. Information pertaining to the increase in medical infrastructure at various hospitals should be furnished in a tabular form.

As for the HITAM app, the Central team, during its recent visit, had appreciated its effectiveness and simplicity, Somesh Kumar informed the bench. So far, about 46,800 calls have been made to patients using the app. The admission process at hospitals has also been simplified. “The entire State machinery, doctors, bureaucrats and others are working all day to curb the menace. Most of them are deprived of sleep and exposed to the virus as they are collecting information from the ground level. Exhaustive information has to be amalgamated before the video-conferences convened by the Prime Minister and the Central team,” he said.

Rapid Antigen test kits

The bench questioned if the government had examined the use of Rapid Antigen test kits, considering that there were reports of its success rate being only 40 per cent. To this, the Chief Secretary said the testing method is a boon to the medical fraternity. Rapid Antigen test has also been validated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the test result is out in 15 minutes. Even the expert committee had said the tests can be conducted at every level as it facilitates early diagnosis.

The RT-PCR test, on the other hand, takes longer to give the result. As for the Rajasthan government’s decision to stop using the Rapid Antigen test, it is a mere “aberration”, Somesh Kumar said.While dispensing with the appearance of the Chief Secretary, the bench directed the Director of Public Health, Dr G Srinivasa Rao, and Director of Medical Education, Dr Ramesh Reddy, to appear before it on the next date of the hearing. The bench posted the matter to September 4.

Containing the virus

The State has to consider opening a Covid-19 centre in one of the stadia in Hyderabad by involving NGOs and civil societies, like Delhi did, the bench said