"Test Asymptomatic Persons": New Plea In SC Seeks Review Of Government's COVID Testing Strategy

A new PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court for issuance of directions to the Union Government to review the current COVID19 testing criteria to include all asymptomatic persons in areas affected with the outbreak.

The petitioner(s) has averred that incorporating the "Pooling Method" which enunciates pooling the samples of both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals, shall exponentially increase the 'tested' population and shall go on to efficiently identify areas affected and people carrying the virus, even though they may or not not show symptoms.

Drawing corollaries of the pool testing strategy from Germany, the petitioner has argued in the petition that it is the most effective strategy for a country like India especially wherein, India's per million testing statistics is one of the worst among all infected nations and the testing amongasymptomatic patients is non-existent.

Further, the petitioner has relied on numerous reports in the Media and researches to arrive at the conclusions drawn out in the petition.

In this backdrop, the Petitioner reccomends directions to the tune of setting up Mobile Testing Facilicties or through door step sample collection(s) so that "sample collection and testing of any person showing any signs/symptoms of COVID-19 Corona virus, so that testing and quarantine can be done at home instead of travelling to hospitals, therefore minimizing the pressure on the already overburdened hospital".

The petition has sought the interference of the Top Court in terms of Article 142 of the Constitution in view of the right to safety as well as the right to healthy standard of living along with improved directive health of Indians.

Moroever, the petitioner lays down that doing so shall be in consonance with the basic stricuture of the Constitution vis-à-vis Article 21.

 ".....Article 21, which includes a right to life and is woven in the enforceable and justiciable Fundamental Rights of the Constitution. Although the Supreme Court has explicitly stated in various cases that the right to life should be interpreted as a right to "live with human dignity" including the 'Right to Health. This Hon'ble Court in the matter of State of Punjab & Ors. v. Mohinder Singh Chawla., (1997) 2 SCC 83 has held that 'Right to Health' is integral to right to life. Government has constitutional obligation to provide the health facilities." - the petition avers.

The petition has been drawn and filed by Prakhar Dixit & Siddharth Kumar Singh.

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Read the Petition Here