HC questions TS on virus testing
Court seeks to know if the state plans to set up mobile Covid-19 testing labs
The High Court on Monday warned the state government against easing the lockdown by declaring that most districts have no Covid-19 cases, without conducting adequate tests. “Don’t add fuel to fire when the pandemic is yet to reach its peak,” the court said.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Viiaysen Reddy was dealing with two public interest litigations.
Petitioner Varun Sankineni from Suryapet district through his counsel Pujitha contended that the government has stopped conducting tests in the district since April 22, and has declared Suryapet a green zone.
The other PIL was filed by Naresh Reddy Chinnola, an advocate from Nirmal, alleging that there is no social distancing maintained by people in Nirmal because it has been categorised a green zone.
The Chief Justice observed, “Unless you know the reality by conducting adequate number of Covid-19 tests, how can the government declare the districts as Green Zones? If it is based on presumptions and assumptions then it will be dangerous.”
The bench questioned why the government had not arranged for mobile testing laboratories and why it was so stingy in conducting tests. “We can’t be liberal, we should be conservative on the lines of the Kerala government, which arranged for mobile laboratories in each and every cluster of the state, to contain the spread of the pandemic,” the bench observed.
The bench expressed apprehension that the situation may deteriorate with workers returning to the state who may not have been tested, and with the easing of the lockdown allowing people from the declared Green Zones to move freely to other places.
The court observed that the situation may worsen if people living in tribal and remote areas were infected by people from other areas moving in.
The court directed Advocate General B.S. Prasad to furnish a report with regard to the extent of testing in each district and the availability of Coronavirus testing laboratories in the state. The court sought to know whether the government has any plans to make mobile Covid-19 testing laboratories available in the state. It also wanted details of testing carried out by the state in Suryapet, particularly after April 22.
With regard to the Nirmal PIL, the government has to inform the court by May 26 what is the factual position prevailing in Nirmal district as it has been declared a Green Zone. A report on the number of Coronavirus tests conducted in Nirmal from April 22 to May must also be submitted.
Further, the court directed the district collector of Nirmal to ensure that people in Nirmal maintain social distancing, closely monitor how many workers have returned to Nirmal, more particularly labourers from Maharashtra, whether they are being tested for Coronavirus, if any positive cases have been found, and if people are being quarantined.