Amid lockdown, PIL in SC seeks free test for COVID-19 pandemic

The petition filed in apex court on Tuesday also sought setting up of temporary hospital beds and facilitating thermal screening at public places in view of the coronavirus spread.

New Delhi: A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking directions from the court to provide free COVID-19 testing facility across the nation.

However, it further stated that government should expand the testing facilities at the earliest and should ensure that the tests are conducted under NABL accredited labs as the non accredited ones are not adhering to the standards provided by International Laboratory accredition co-operation and Asia Pacific accredition co-operation.

According to the reports, advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, the petitioner,explained in his petition that government hospitals are packed to its capacity and people have no option but to shift to the alternate private hospitals where they have to pay a high price to undergo treatment.

Reportedly, criticising the government's move, Sudhi, said that private labs and hospitals are completely 'insensitive' and 'indifferent' to the plight of common people who are financially burdened due to the lockdown.

"Issuance such arbitary advisory dated 17.03.2020 fixing Rs 4500 / testing and confirming including screening of Covid-19 in private hospitals/labs are discriminatory and unreasonble, depriving the accessibility of medical facilities to the common citizen violating the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Further, the capping of the prices of the testing facility of COVID-19 in private hospitals/labs strikes at the Article 14 of the constitution of India as being arbitary and unreasonble," reasoned the petition.

Further he said that during the time when COVID-19 is an 'impending danger' its important that private labs/hospitals help in containing the virus.

"It is unfortunate that there are 114 identified testing centres for testing the COVID-19 in the entire country of 130 million citizens,"read the petition.