New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court has warned the state government of stern action if it did not strictly follow the rules pertaining to COVID management as set out by the court.
The court was reacting to a complaint of negligence in following the guidelines of the central and state governments regarding the Coronavirus. The court said that the slogan ‘Two yards away, mask is necessary’ is not being followed. People have misinterpreted the unlock procedure and are roaming freely.
A division bench of Justices Siddharth Verma and Ajit Kumar, hearing the public interest litigation on the plight of quarantine centers and better treatment facilities in hospitals, expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s measures regarding Corona. The court said that it is the responsibility of the district administration and police to strictly follow the rules of the central government of wearing masks and maintaining physical distance.
The court has directed all district officers and superintendents of police of the state to follow the rules of maintaining physical distance of two yards and the rule of wearing masks and take action against the shopkeepers by closing shops. The court said that in the OPD of hospitals, nursing homes or clinics, if social distancing is not being followed, action should also be taken on them.
The court has said that no pillion rides on two wheelers, except husband and wife, should be allowed. Pillion rides can be allowed on two-wheelers only if necessary. The court has ordered the metropolitan state to send a copy of the order in 12 hours to all the district magistrates, SSPs and SPs.
The high court has summoned the municipal commissioner on the next hearing for failing to remove the encroachment under the time-bound action plan by the Municipal Corporation, Prayagraj. In the meantime, it has been asked to remove the encroachment as per the plan. Earlier, the Municipal Corporation had said that the encroachment was being removed, but the photographs presented by the petitioner in the court changed the stand of the court.
The court has expressed displeasure over the delay in the receipts of the Corona test reports and has asked the CMO Prayagraj to submit an affidavit between July 20 and August 5 with details of the dates of tests and report dates.
Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal said that the delay in the test reports was due to large backlog. Now the test reports are being given on time. The court said that official data on the corona suggest that the situation is under control, but the infection is increasing. Newspaper reports are not encouraging. People are undergoing treatment in private hospitals. There is a flaw in the government system. People are not getting the test report in time.
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All these issues will be heard on August 7.
– India Legal Bureau