HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday cornered the state government on why it had not implemented several of its directions on controlling COVID-19.
A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and justice B Vijayasen Reddy asked the government why its direction that the fee for treatment for COVID-19 should be uniform in all private hospitals has not been implemented.
The division bench also wanted to know why no GO was issued revising the maximum fee chargeable for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals.
Expressing concern over people mortgaging their gold ornaments to pay private hospitals for treatment for COVID-19, the division bench wondered how the government could remain callous about the trials and tribulations of patients and their relatives.
The division bench also wanted to know why the advisory committee to guide the government on measures to be taken to combat the pandemic was not constituted and asked when the 14 new RT-PCR laboratories would begin functioning.
The bench, expressing its deep dissatisfaction over the report submitted by the medical and health department, confronted the government on why the affidavit was silent on some other suggestions it had made in the past. "Do you want to do everything at a later date? You won't do anything now?" the bench asked.
The bench sought an explanation from the Centre on why it had not despatched the medicines allotted to the state for treatment of black fungus.
Pointing out that the action plan on dealing with the third wave of COVID-19 -- should it raise its head -- was wanting in several aspects, the bench asked the government whether it is ready with the necessary infrastructure. If the virus attacks children, would the Niloufer Hospital be able to deal with the emergency, the bench asked and directed the government to spell out the steps to be taken to fortify the hospital with better infrastructure and staff. The bench recalled that as many as 8,000 children contracted the infection in just one district in Maharashtra, while adjourning the hearing on the case to Wednesday.