High Court of Tripura suggests steps for handling COVID 19
The High Court of Tripura today directed the state government to clarify whether it was ensuring that the COVID 19 situation in the state was being handled as per safety norms. During hearing of a PIL, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Akil A Kureshi and Justice Subhasish Talapatra also suggested a slew of measures to handle the COVID 19 situation in a better way.
Expressing its concern over violation of safety directives, the Court asked the authorities to ensure wearing of face masks by people to the maximum possible extent and also submit a detailed report on numbers of cases in which fine have been collected and the amount to it. "When the experts in the field put so much stress on proper use of face masks in order to reduce the possibility of transmission of the virus, we still find that large number of people move about in public places either without masks or without properly wearing the masks thereby putting themselves as well as others to grave risks", observed the Court. Further, the Bench directed the state government to list the efforts being made to enforce social distancing and stressed on awareness.
The Court also sought a report on the part of government under what condition home quarantine is permitted to COVID 19 positive patients and how medical support was given to them besides number of fully equipped dedicated ambulance available in the state. Laying emphasis on the requirement of continuous communication from the hospital administration to the relatives of patients, it asked the state government to take steps for setting up of a special inquiry cell at AGMC functional round the clock.
The High Court also batted for setting up of a center for receiving complaints and suggestions besides steps to address the concerns of medicos and medical staff. The Bench directed the state government to make the report of central medical team available to it for its perusal. On treatment of COVID 19 patients at the private hospital, the Court instructed the government to negotiate with the hospital to fix the expenses.
Meanwhile, the court appointed counsel Somik Deb as amicus curie to assist the court in the case. The next hearing is pegged on September 28 next.