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Hyderabad High Court: pulls up Telangana government for halting Covid-19 test, warns contempt
There is ‘High positives-low testing’ scenario in Telangana. It had been reported India’s highest positive rate at 27.7% and the country’s lowest number of tests at a mere 14,690 between June 10-23 took place in Telangana.
Hyderabad high court bench comprises of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy has pulled up the Telangana government for halting Covid-19 tests despite repeated directives to increase the tests amid a sharp spike in coronavirus spread, and warned to initiate contempt proceedings.
The court regarded the attitude of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government headed by chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao as a violation of the citizens ‘fundamental right’ to live.
This comes a day after the Telangana government found fault with the private labs and held them responsible for the sudden spike in cases and high positives. Resorting to blame game, the TRS government had also casted scathing remarks on the testing protocols, human resources, infrastructure, and infection control measures at the private labs leading to high positivity rate and disparity numbers.
The division bench also sought to know the number of tests conducted from May 23 to June 23 and the details of the primary and secondary contacts. The Court ordered submitting details on the number of personal protection equipment kits supplied to the healthcare workers, warning that it may initiate contempt proceedings for not adhering to the orders passed earlier on the supply of PPE kits to frontline warriors.
Perturbed over repeated structures from the High Court on Covid-19 tests and augmenting the healthcare infrastructure, the TRS government had on June 9 decided to move to the Supreme Court claiming that the High Court’s orders cannot be adhered to.
Responding to the High Court’s directives earlier on procuring test kits to ascertain community spread of the virus, Telangana public health director G Srinivas Rao had submitted that the state was waiting for the Indian Council of Medical Research’s suggestions on where to procure the kits.
The court also observed that halting the tests from June 26 after announcing to conduct 50,000 tests would be construed as contempt of court and proceedings will be initiated accordingly if it is not satisfied with responses of the Telangana government.
