Hyderabad: Amid fears of a possible third wave of Covid-19 and rise in Omicron cases, the Telangana High Court on Friday directed the state government to ensure that testing is carried out on a large scale, especially in borders, airports, bus stops and railway stations. The court also directed the state government to explore possibilities to establish another children's hospital to cater to Covid-infected children. The court felt that the only exclusive hospital for children, Niloufer hospital, may not be sufficient if there is a surge in cases.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili was dealing with a batch of petitions related to Covid-19 management.
After going through the status report submitted by the director of public health and considering the contentions raised by the counsels, the court has given several directions to the state government.
Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel submitted to the court that the TRS-led government was organizing ‘Raithu Bandhu Samburalu’ with huge gatherings, deviating from the guidelines issued by the Union government and other advisories.
In its response, the court made it clear that the authorities should ensure strict ban on public gathering. The state was also directed to take steps to ensure that there would be no overcrowding at theatres, malls and weekly vegetable bazaars.
Adjourning the cases to January 17, the court directed the government to file a fresh status report on Covid-19, by then.
