The Madras High Court on Monday observed that there has been no allegation of underreporting of the number of COVID-19 positive cases and the number of deaths in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry though such complaints had been raised in some other places. It therefore impressed upon the need for the State government to upload the figures on a real time basis on the government website so that people get to know the details at the touch of a button.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy also wrote that the second wave of the pandemic appeared to have subsided in both the State and the Union Territory. The judges also took note that the status reports filed in the court on behalf of the respective governments indicated increased number of hospital beds and ready availability of both oxygen-supported beds and non-oxygen beds for the COVID-19 patients.
“It is only hoped that the additional facilities are not discontinued for the next few months and, even if it costs a bit more, they are maintained if only to ensure that the dearth which was faced during the second surge is not repeated,” the Bench observed in its interim order on a public interest litigation petition taken up suo motu to monitor the steps taken by the State government and the U.T. administration in the fight against the pandemic.
Stating that the only area of concern appeared to be availability of vaccines, the judges wrote: “Earlier, the Union’s commitment to ensure that 216 crore doses of vaccine are available by the end of the year has been recorded. It is hoped that the target is met sooner rather than later.”
Taking note of a complaint made by a lawyer that some Ministers and MLAs were visiting hospitals with a big entourage without following physical distancing norms, the Division Bench said: “All concerned, including the hospitals and clinics that the MLAs visit for the purpose of looking into the conditions there or to oversee the treatment provided, should maintain the COVID-19 protocol at all times.”
It went on to state: “It sometimes happens that despite the person leading the team advising others not to accompany, the enthusiasm cannot be checked. There may be a need, at times, to restrict the number of persons accompanying legislators and the like while they go on their visits.”
