E-Paper
Covid-19: Tripura High Court steps in, wants status report on recommendations of central team
The Tripura High Court expressed concern at a decline in the state’s testing figures and an increase in the coronavirus positivity rate.
The Tripura High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to detail the steps implemented on recommendations of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) team who visited the state in September to find out the cause behind rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths.
The two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice Subhasish Talapatra had taken suo motu notice of the case in September after a series of allegations about poor health services at Tripura’s first dedicated Covid hospital, Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) hospital in Agartala.
Tripura has recorded a total of 27,308 Covid-19 positive cases and 298 deaths. Two others died by suicide. A central team sent to the state had pointed out some shortcomings, including ventilators, X-ray and CT chest machines that had either not been installed or weren’t working.
The state had initially struggled to procure medical equipment in the initial phase of the coronavirus outbreak and were reported to have been overcharged for supply of face masks and personal protective equipment.
At Tuesday’s hearing the court noted that the number of daily tests conducted had declined substantially from an average of 3,500-4,500 tests between 10 and 25 September. But the figure of daily tests dwindled to 2,000 after September 25.
As per government records, 1,997 tests were conducted on 3 October, 2,173 tests on 4 October and 1229 tests the next day.
“....the positivity rate of the recent past is quite high and mostly it seems to be above 10% of the samples tested. When compared with the overall positivity rate of the beginning of around 6.75%, this rate is higher. Therefore, if the total number of positive cases detected per day in the recent past is correlated with the reduced testing, the people of the state should not get a false idea that there is a dramatic improvement in the coronavirus spread and that the life should go back to normal. This would be a serious mistake with serious consequences, “ the court order said.
