Make RTPCR -ve report mandatory for people entering state: TS HC advises govt
The court also asked the government to take a call on the restrictions on Pubs, Clubs, and Theaters.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 8 April 2021 1:33 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Telangana High Court on Thursday advises the state government to make RTPCR negative certificates mandatory for people entering the state.
On Wednesday, Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender said the sudden increase in the number of new COVID cases in the state is because of travelers from Maharashtra.
Addressing media persons on 7th April, the Minister said, 'About 60 per cent of cases in the country are registered from Maharashtra alone. Due to the lockdown in many cities of Maharashtra, migrants from Telangana are returning home. And those infected persons are turning out to be super spreaders. The district that share border with Maharashtra are on high alert and officials have been asked to be vigilant" said Eatala Rajender.
The health minister, however, asserted that most infected migrants returning home asymptomatic.
The court also asked the government to take a call on the restrictions on Pubs, Clubs, and Theaters.
Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy were dealing with the PILs seeking directions to the government to effectively contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The court asked what the government is doing to control the assembly of people at Pubs, Clubs Theaters, marriages functions, and funerals.
It should be recalled that Telangana High Court on Tuesday took the state government to task for failure to ramp up RT-PCR testing.
The court also pointed out that the people are turning up in large numbers for funerals and weddings, posing a major threat to public health. It also expressed displeasure against the government for not doing enough RT-PCR tests.
The court pointed out that more rapid antigen tests (RAT), are conducted in the state, which is not reliable. The court said RTPCR tests did not compromise even 10 percent of the total tests. The court asked the state to inform what action is being taken against those who flagrantly violated Covid-19 protocols and how much fine has been imposed on the lawbreakers.
Telangana reported 2,055 new Covid cases on Wednesday taking the overall tally to 3,18,704 in the state. The last time the state reported more than 2000 cases were on October 1, 2020, when the state reported 2009 cases.
The state reported seven new deaths on April 7 taking the total death toll to 1,741. The fatality rate in the state is 0.54 per cent which is less than the national average of 1.3 per cent.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area on Wednesday reported 398 new cases. The neighbouring Rangareddy district reported 174 new cases. Medchal Malkajgiri reported 214 and Sangareddy 65 new cases.
Other districts of Telangana are also seeing a surge in cases. Nizamabad on Wednesday reported 169 new cases while Nirmal reported 100 cases and Jagtial reported 99 cases.
Around 303 citizens recovered from the infection on Wednesday taking total recoveries to 3,03,601 in the state. The recovery rate, as per the government, now stands at 95.26 per cent, which is approximately four per cent higher than the national average of 91.7 per cent. The state has 13,362 active cases currently of which 8,263 are under home isolation.
