HC notice to Delhi govt on three separate pleas related to tests, treatment of COVID patients

New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the Delhi government on three separate petitions related to the testing and treatment of coronavirus patients at hospitals in the national capital.
A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked Delhi government to file its response on the pleas and listed the matter for further hearing on June 25, the day when the court will hear its suo-motu petition related to COVID-19 treatment.
One of the petitions was filed by advocate Krishna Kumar Sharma who has sought direction for ensuring that the government and private hospitals shall not deny the admission of asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19 patients.
It sought appropriate directions for hospitals not to charge high amounts for PPE from patients and directions to the respondent for taking immediate action against those government and private hospitals or nursing homes, which refuse emergency medical care to the patients in this Covid-19 pandemic.
The plea also sought to ensure that COVID-19 test shall not be mandatory before admitting elective and even emergency patients by government and private hospitals.
The court also asked the Delhi government and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to file a reply and listed the matter for further hearing on June 22 on another petition filed by one Renu Goswami.
Goswami had challenged the legality and validity of the official order dated June 2, 2020, issued by the Delhi government whereby the government has curtailed access to COVID-19 tests despite an alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases.
Goswami, in the plea, said that the Delhi government has excluded asymptomatic direct contacts of confirmed cases from COVID-19 testing, which it is submitted is in direct contravention of ICMR testing guidelines dated May 18 which mandate testing of asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts of a confirmed case.
The third petition listed for further hearing on June 22 has been filed by Dr KK Aggarwal, Padma Shri awardee and former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) through advocate Ira Gupta.
Aggarwal, in his petition, sought quashing of the Delhi government order dated June 2 saying that getting a medical test done is a fundamental right of every citizen.
He said that since COVID-19 is a notifiable disease, it is mandatory for all citizens to get themselves tested for COVID-19 whether the patient is symptomatic, asymptomatic, or pre-symptomatic. (ANI)