HYDERABAD: The high court on Wednesday directed the state government to submit within a week steps taken to implement recommendations of the experts’ committee formed under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act to tackle the predicted Covid-19 third wave.
The court also directed the central government and the health ministry to inform whether it complied with its earlier directive to include medicines, particularly lifesaving drugs, used to treat Covid-19 patients in the list of essential drugs by September
22. A bench of Acting Chief Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Justice T Vinod Kumar gave these and many other interim directions while hearing a batch of PILs related to the war against Covid-19.
The bench asked the state counsel to inform the court about the paediatric health care facilities available or upgraded in the recent past to face the third wave.
“The experts’ committee has suggested that oxygen generation plants and storage tanks have to be set up at several places. Similarly, the committee asked you to increase the oxygen and ICU beds substantially. What happened to that?” the bench asked Dr G Srinivas Rao, director, public health, who was present before the court virtually.
“Children are more vulnerable and they are said to be the target of the anticipated third wave. You opened schools. No vaccine for them so far. Now, Ganesh Chaturthi congregations will be there. If the third wave comes, you will not have time even to blame others,” the bench warned the health director.
“That’s what happened in the second wave. Anticipate things and prepare for the third wave,” the bench said, while asking the director to file an affidavit on these issues.
The bench also sought to know from the health director as to why his affidavit did not say anything on the colour-coded graded response action plan that was sought from him earlier.
