HC seeks Centre, Delhi govt stand on PIL for measures to combat COVID-19

The Delhi High Court asked the Centre and Delhi government for their stand on a petition filed by lawyer Triveni Potekar, which seeks directions to make available important and relevant information on access to and availability of medical facilities for testing and treatment for the coronavirus disease.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and the Delhi government on a PIL seeking proper and adequate measures to combat coronavirus.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Ministry of Health and the Delhi government seeking their replies on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate.

The petition, by lawyer Triveni Potekar, seeks directions to the Centre and the Delhi government to make available important and relevant information on access to and availability of medical facilities for testing and treatment for the coronavirus disease.

According to the Union health ministry, there are 50 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country. However, reports from states put the figure at 59.

"The total number of positive cases are now 50. Of these 34 are Indian nationals and 16 are citizens of Italy. There has been no death in the country due to coronavirus so far," Special Secretary (Health), Union Health Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Read:COVID-19 LIVE: Two more persons test positive in Kerala, total cases rise to 59 in India

The Indian government has stepped up tougher border control measures to combat the Covid-19 outbreak as the number of patients is rising mostly from travel history to affected countries.

The fresh restrictions both for outbound and inbound travel now include major European countries including France, Spain and Germany.

COVID-19 testing sites in India

The government strategy at containment is now veering towards border controls as several other countries have also rolled out travel curbs to and from Covid-19 affected countries.

The deadly virus, which originated from Wuhan in China, has infected 110,337 people in more than 90 countries in nearly three months.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)