Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar has written to Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice D.N. Patel raising concern over the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 and requested the court to revert to virtual hearing mode once again.
Quoting news from different countries like the United Kingdom, he said:
“The European countries have been reporting as close to 93,000 cases every day. It appears that the variant is 70 times more contagious than the earlier delta variant.”
Quoting the interview of Niti Aayog member Dr V.K. Paul, Nayar said that India could face at least 14 lakh cases a day with the Omicron virus emerging and that this number has the potential to hit the country’s health infrastructure.
He said that against this backdrop, the congregation of a large number of advocates, support staff, and the court staff who physically attend the court would no doubt put the life put everyone at risk of contracting the infection.
In the backdrop of rising cases of omicron variant in past weeks, Delhi High Court judge Justice Rekha Palli has also raised the issue of overcrowding in the court. Justice Palli then asked people present in the court to move out if they do not have any business with the case. She also asked them to avoid standing too close to each other.
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The WHO on Saturday said the Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission.
Against this backdrop, the Indian Council of Medical Research issued a call to avoid non-essential travel and mass gatherings and observe low-intensity festivities. Moreover, Mumbai’s civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation announced new guidelines amid rising Omicron cases in Maharashtra.
Mixed hearings have been back after the extended Covid-19 lockdown but Omicron fears have led to returning to virtual hearings.