Rajasthan HC Directs ICMR To Instruct Hospitals Not To Discharge Corona Affected Patients Unless they Are Found Completely Cured [Read Order]

Akshita Saxena

24 March 2020 12:41 PM GMT

  • Rajasthan HC Directs ICMR To Instruct Hospitals Not To Discharge Corona Affected Patients Unless they Are Found Completely Cured [Read Order]

    In a suo moto PIL registered to address the challenge of pandemic COVID-19, a division bench at the Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court has asked the Director of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to pass necessary instructions to all medical and health agencies not to discharge a Corona Virus infected patient unless he is found completely virus free through blood...

    In a suo moto PIL registered to address the challenge of pandemic COVID-19, a division bench at the Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court has asked the Director of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to pass necessary instructions to all medical and health agencies not to discharge a Corona Virus infected patient unless he is found completely virus free through blood test.

    The PIL was registered on the basis of a letter sent by Advocate Sehban Naqvi in the wake of COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic majorly stating as:

    The bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Satish Kumar Sharma took note of a few cases where the infected persons were discharged from the hospitals after declaring them infection free and after a few days they had to be again hospitalized having been found infected.

    "This is a very risky situation, which may result in rapid spreading of the pandemic Corona Virus (COVID19) through such persons. It is noticeable that various tests are being conducted to detect the Corona Virus in human body but only blood test can be most effective in detecting the infection of virus including Corona Virus.

    Therefore, the Director, Indian Council of Medical Research is directed to thoroughly consider the issue and pass necessary instructions to all medical and health agencies not to discharge a Corona Virus infected patient unless he is found completely virus free through blood test. Similar precautions may also be adopted for the persons who are kept in home isolation or in quarantine," the bench thus observed.

    Inter alia, the court has also asked both the ICMR and the State government to ensure the following:

    1. The State Government shall ensure that all the departments engaged in prevention of pandemic, regularly review the situation on daily basis and issue appropriate instructions as needed.
    2. A multi-tier mechanism for close watch and monitoring be evolved to ensure strict compliance of the directions leaving no smallest lapse at any level.
    3. The personnel engaged in essential duties be provided sanitizers and good quality masks, as recognized by the competent medical agencies. By close supervision it be ensured that no such personnel remain on duty without covering his or her face with mask. While on duty all such personnel shall keep minimum of two meters to each other.
    4. No private or public gathering shall be allowed in the name of function or meeting except in emergent and extremely necessary situation, that too, with prior permission of the concerned authorities, but in that case also it shall be strictly ensured that no person shall remain without covering his face with masks and maintain minimum required distance of two meters with each other.
    5. No person shall be allowed to come out without covering his face with masks even for purchase of essential households or medicines or for any other emergent purpose.
    6. The Government machinery shall strictly take all effective measures to ensure compliance of lock-down and other similar steps announced or to be announced to control the pandemic.
    7. All the measures and precautions be widely disseminated through print, electronic & social media through an appropriate designated officer on a daily basis till the pandemic is brought under control.

    The matter is now listed for April 21, to record compliance.


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