Covid reality contrary to Gujarat govt claims: HC

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Monday observed that the people of the state were at “God’s mercy” while hearing a suo-motu petition on increasing Covid cases in the state and directed the government to take several corrective steps

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Monday observed that the people of the state were at “God’s mercy” while hearing a suo-motu petition on increasing Covid cases in the state and directed the government to take several corrective steps.

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Taking cognizance of media reports on rising number of cases over the last two days -- the state has added at least 10,000 cases in this time -- and the shortage of hospital beds, Remdesivir injections, oxygen, ventilators and vaccines, chief justice Vikram Nath took up a public interest litigation on Sunday while observing: “The State is heading towards a health emergency of sorts.”

On Monday, not convinced by the detailed explanations and replies by state Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, a division bench of Nath and Justice Bhargav Karia observed: “People now think that they are at God’s mercy.”

The high court bench heard out Trivedi but insisted, “The situation is quite different than what you are claiming. You are saying that everything is alright. But the reality is contrary to that.”

The court went on to point out that there was a “trust deficit” among the people. “People are cursing the government and the government is cursing the people. This will not help. We need to break this chain of infection,” the court said.

The bench refused to accept most of the Advocate General’s explanations on the steps being taken by the Gujarat government, especially on the availability of beds or Remdesivir, a key anti-viral drug that is in short supply.

Queues can be seen outside the Zydus Hospital in Ahmedabad run by Zydus Healthcare that also makes Remdesivir . AG Trivedi denied that there was a shortage of the drug and cited expert medical opinion that it should be sparingly used given that it could have adverse side-effects on the liver and the kidney of the patients.

Remdesivir continues to be used in India despite WHO recommending against its use , on the grounds that there is no evidence that it works. India has banned the export of Remdesivir and ingredients that go into it in an attempt to address the shortage -- brought about, in part, by hoarding and indiscriminate use.

Trivedi told the court that people who do not need the drug were also trying to buy it as a precautionary measure. He stated, “Remdesivir is not required if the patient is under home treatment or is asymptomatic and not critical.”

He added that even the supply was limited and said, “Only seven companies make it. The production is just 1.75 lakh vials per day. We are procuring around 25,000 injections every day for Gujarat.”

But the high court wondered whether the government was trying to control the supply of Remdesivir when people were scrambling to get it and even designated hospitals were saying they did not have it.

“The medicine is available, but it is being controlled by the government. Why can’t people buy it? Make sure it is available everywhere. There is no shortage of Remdesivir. Everything is available with you. We want results, not reasons.”

Gujarat BJP President CR Patil organised some 5,000 vials of Remdivisir and offered to distribute them free to people from the BJP office in Surat, while the state reeled under a severe shortage.

A controversy erupted over this with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel stating they were not aware how Patil managed the injections and that it was not part of the State’s procurement. The BJP defended Patil and said his aim was to help the people of Surat, suffering from shortage of the antiviral drug. The Congress accused the government of indulging in politics over shortage of the drug.

The court was also angry over reports that RT-PCR test reports were taking long. Earlier, the RT-PCR test results used to come in 8, 10 or 12 hours.

It now takes “almost five days to seven today”, the bench said. “That is for the common man. For someone like you or Mr Devnani (an advocate party to the case) or for us, maybe we can speed up, we can jump the line.”

On health infrastructure, the court observed, “(It is happening because) you did not have the infrastructure. You did not increase facilities.”

The bench scoffed at the government’s claim that there were adequate number of beds for Covid-19 patients. “I have information that patients are turned away even if beds are available at hospitals. If beds are there, then why are we seeing 40 ambulances with patients waiting outside hospitals?” asked Justice Vikram Nath.

Trivedi replied that though all hospitals offered similar treatment, people had preferences and this was the reason for a huge rush outside some hospitals.

The advocate general said a lockdown was difficult, pointing out that it would increase the miseries of the poor and migrant workers manifold, especially when industry is in dire straits.

The high court finally asked the government to submit a detailed report by Wednesday and scheduled the next hearing for April 15.

The Gujarat high court has been monitoring Covid preparedness in the state since last year and had issued series of directions to the state government in the past one year on ramping medical facilities to deal with Covid cases.