Hyderabad: Expressing concern over the recent spurt in Covid-9 infections, especially among students, the Telangana High Court on Thursday advised the government to be more cautious and monitor how the standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being followed by schools, colleges, universities and hostels.
A division bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with some PILs seeking court directions to the government for steps to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.
Referring to reports that a school in the Mancherial district became a hotspot for Covid infection, CJ Hima Kohli asked Advocate General B.S. Prasad how the state is ensuring implementation of the social distancing norms and SOPs in schools and colleges, which are recently re-opened after a fall in Covid cases.
CJ Kohli observed, "It is imperative that the state focuses attention on this aspect and ensure that there is no spread of the virus. We keep hearing that a second wave of coronavirus has hit many countries and we don't want Telangana go that way."
The CJ asked what steps the government has put in place to prevent large gatherings for celebrations and festivals so as to contain the spread of the Coronavirus and what steps have been taken to screen passengers entering Telangana state through bus terminals and railway stations from neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka, as also via airports. Was there proper screening of people thronging commercial establishments, the CJ asked.
Cautioning that construction sites would be susceptible, prone and exposed to coronavirus, the court stressed that this section of people should be focused upon.
The court expressed deep concern over reports that tests are insufficient in the state. The court had advised the government to conduct 50,000 tests per day, but less than 20,000 tests were done a day. It questioned the Advocate General as to what was the reason for such a fall in the number of tests and asked the state to file a report by April 6, with details of the tests done through RTPCR and RAT(Rapid Antigen Test), in a tabulated form.
