E-Paper
Uttarakhand may use rapid testing on borders after consultation with ICMR, says HC
The HC said “the sense which we get from the long discussion we had so far is that the State government may implement the use of rapid testing for surveillance purposes, only after consultation with ICMR”.
Expressing concern over many migrants returning to the state testing positive for Covid-19, the Uttarakhand high court on Monday directed that state government may use rapid testing for surveillance purposes on borders, only after consultation with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which is the nodal agency spearheading the fight against the pandemic in the country.
The HC said “the sense which we get from the long discussion we had so far is that the State government may implement the use of rapid testing for surveillance purposes, only after consultation with ICMR”.
The court’s direction came while hearing a PIL filed by Haridwar-based Sachdanand Dabral regarding the plight of the migrants and other needy people amid lockdown.
So far 24 people who returned to Uttarakhand from other states during the ongoing evacuation process have turned Covid-19 positive in the state, raising alarm bells among the health officials fighting the epidemic in the state. The state has so far reported 96 Covid-19 cases.
The HC noted that the “Secretary, health, government of Uttarakhand as of now has assured this court that the government will consult ICMR on whether rapid testing can be done at the borders for surveillance purposes only, and he shall apprise this court of the outcome on the next date of listing,” according to Shiv Bhatt, counsel of the petitioner.
The next hearing in the matter has been fixed on May 20
In the PIL, Dabral had alleged that authorities concerned had failed to provide relief materials to daily wage labourers and needy persons on their doorsteps during the lockdown, adding that such people are “incapable of approaching the court as in the present crisis they are without any food or money..”.
On May 13, HC had sought reply from state and Central government on two issues - whether, each person returning to the state was also being medically examined as ‘thermal screening is not enough’ and whether antigen tests, or any other rapid tests, could be performed on people returning to the state.
Abhishek Tripathi, chief operational officer for Covid-19 in Uttarakhand said that ICMR has said that rapid testing is not an authentic test and it has not recommended it.
“As per the guideline from ICMR of April 27, it had said that it advocates that RT-PCR throat/nasal swab test as the best use for diagnosis of Covid-19. RT-PCR test detects the virus early and is the best strategy to identify and isolate the individual,” said Tripathi.
According to government officials, till Monday evening, over 2.25 lakh registrations for return to Uttarakhand had been made on the state website. Of these, the state government under its evacuation process has so far brought back 1,04,461 people through trains and buses.
In the case of people from other states stranded in Uttarakhand, 38,176 have registered with the government for return to their respective states. Of these, 22,526 have been sent to their respective states.
