HYDERABAD: Dissatisfied with the Telangana government for not conducting enough of Covid-19 tests as compared with other States, a division bench of the High Court here on Thursday directed it on the steps be taken for increasing the number of tests and told it to consider rapid antigen tests as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The bench also directed the State to widely publicise the 54 Covid-designated government hospitals so that people can approach these for treatment instead of rushing only to Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad. It told the State to publish the number of Covid-19 positive cases, apart from the daily health bulletins, in various regional newspapers every day.
This is to make the citizens aware of the impending danger and enable them to take necessary precautions, the bench said.Comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, the bench passed this order through video-conference while hearing a batch of PILs.
The PILs sought directions to the State government for notifying the existing 100- or 50-bed hospitals in the district headquarters to treat Covid-19 patients by providing required medical equipment, medicines and trained staff. It also sought steps to contain the virus.
As per the court direction, Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivas Rao and Gandhi Hospital superintendent Dr Raja Rao appeared before the bench. Advocate General BS Prasad filed a report stating that the State identified 54 government hospitals as designated Covid hospitals, consisting of 2,430 isolation beds and 349 ICU beds in the districts other than Hyderabad. Besides, ICMR approved 18 private laboratories/hospitals to conduct Covid-19 tests and the maximum rates chargeable are fixed.
Further, private hospitals are allowed to treat Covid-19 patients and the government fixed ceilings on the prices. In the report, the government stated that RT-PCR testing is difficult to carry out in a mobile laboratory as bio-safety level precautions have to be taken.
After perusing the contents of the report, the bench noted that the government is not implementing the ICMR guidelines on testing those, who come in close contact with a Covid-19 patient, within five to 10 days from the day of contact. It directed Dr Srinivas Rao to inform the court about the difficulties faced by the medical staff in carrying out RT-PCR tests, which provide the best results and is adopted by Kerala. Further, it ordered for the deployment of police personnel at all the Covid-designated hospitals across Telangana and to provide sufficient protective gear such as PPE kits, N-95 masks, gloves and so on to protect the frontline warriors from infections.
Replying to a query from the bench, Dr Raja Rao informed the court that 274 police personnel of various ranks are guarding the Gandhi Hospital and providing security cover to the doctors and paramedical staff round the clock.
The bench then directed the State government to issue necessary instructions to the private hospitals, permitted to treat Covid-19 patients, to follow the working of Gandhi Hospital which has decided to deploy 50 per cent of its staff every day. Every private hospital treating Covid-19 should thermal-screen all patients, their relatives and attendants at the entrance itself.
Besides, the bench directed Assistant Solicitor General N Rajeshwar Rao to place all circulars and guidelines issued by the Health Ministry before the court. It also directed the Advocate General (AG) to furnish the affidavits of the superintendents of Gandhi, Osmania, NIMS and King Koti hospitals. The bench directed the AG to file a detailed report on the entire issue before the next hearing.
Referring to the Covid-19 deaths in Telangana, the bench said the toll stands at 192 as on June 17, which indicates less mortality rate as compared to the national rate. The bench posted the matter to June 30 for further hearing.
Steps to be taken
Publicise 54 Covid-designated government hospitals
Deploy police personnel at all Covid hospitals
Provide sufficient protective gear to docs, medical staff
Pvt hospitals, permitted to treat Covid-19, should work with 50% staff
They should screen patients, attendants at the entrance
Gandhi medico working at SD Eye Hosp tests +ve
A Gandhi Medical College Post-Graduate medico, who has been working at the SD Eye Hospital in Masab Tank, tested positive for Covid-19. She was serving in the Glaucoma division of the hospital. Following the medico testing positive, around 17 staffers of the division including two to three doctors, have been advised home quarantine
State records 352 cases, crosses 6-K mark
Telangana saw its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases as it recorded 352 new cases on Thursday. Cases also crossed the 6,000-mark in the State, taking the tally to 6,027. It has taken just four days for the cases to go from the 5,000-mark to 6,000-mark. Among the fresh cases, 302 were from GHMC limits alone. Other cases were reported from Rangareddy district (17) and Medchal (10). Mahbubnagar, Mancherial, Medak, Nalgonda, Sangareddy and Warangal Rural and Urban also reported cases. The spike in cases can be attributed to the mass testing drive taken up after the CM’s announcement. Three died and 230 were discharged on Thursday, taking the death toll to 195. The state has 3,301 active cases, the most our hospitals have had to deal with