New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday directed the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to file an affidavit within a week in response to a plea challenging the requirement of a doctor’s prescription to undergo Covid-19 testing. It asked ICMR to clarify its stand on the matter.
Utsav Sindhu has filed the plea citing the need for professionals to produce Covid-19 negative reports to travel to several states for work. The plea cited ICMR’s July 1 order asking states to ensure that laboratories are free to conduct tests without the prior requirement of a doctor’s prescription. It added the order was not being complied with.
The Delhi government on Monday told the court that ICMR’s Specific Referral Form of Covid-19 makes a doctor’s prescription mandatory for testing. On Tuesday, Sindhu’s lawyer, advocate Manish Tiwari, told the court that Himachal Pradesh’s travel advisory requires a person travelling to the state for tourism to produce a Covid-19 negative report issued by ICMR authorized/certified lab report before undertaking such travel.
The lawyer added the requirement of the prescription for the Covid-19 test has been done away with for travel to Chandigarh and Mumbai presumably based on ICMR’s advisory issued on July 1. He contended states were following different criteria that leads to confusion and restricts the people’s inter-state movement.
{{/usCountry}}The lawyer added the requirement of the prescription for the Covid-19 test has been done away with for travel to Chandigarh and Mumbai presumably based on ICMR’s advisory issued on July 1. He contended states were following different criteria that leads to confusion and restricts the people’s inter-state movement.
{{/usCountry}}Following this, the court said, “The respondent no 2 [ICMR] is directed to file an affidavit stating its stands on the requirement of a prescription for testing of Covid-19 especially in light of the submissions of the petitioner…. Such affidavit be filed within one week.”
The matter would be now heard next on July 31.