New Delhi: The UP government has told the Supreme Court that it cannot allow home isolation for mild or pre-symptomatic Covid-19-positive patients, since they are also carriers of the virus.
The submission was made in an affidavit filed in the apex court Tuesday.
“Very mild/pre-symptomatic cases also are carriers of virus and transmit infection to others, it is very difficult to monitor the movements of such persons during home isolation and this can lead to spread of infection,” the state government submitted.
It also told the court that it has arranged for “sufficient infrastructure” for Covid-positive patients and that there are enough beds available for them.
“In the larger public interest of public health of the people of the state it was felt that providing the option of isolation will not be conducive to the goal of breaking the chain of transmission and containing the spread of the disease. It was also felt that it would not be possible for the patient to manage his/her co-morbidity and resultant complications at home,” the UP government asserted.
However, despite this affidavit, a bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, S.K. Kaul and M.R. Shah of the Supreme Court Wednesday asked the UP government to not be in “denial” and to follow the quarantine guidelines notified by the central government.
The UP government has now been asked to file another affidavit, detailing its quarantine rules, within two weeks.
The affidavit was submitted in response to a plea filed by Gurugram resident Rohit Bhalla last month, through advocates Anindita Mitra and Aman Bhalla, demanding that Delhi-NCR be considered a single region and the capital city’s borders with Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Sonipat be re-opened.
During the last hearing on 12 June, the court had taken strong objection to the state government’s decision to not allow home quarantine, and only allow institutional quarantine. The submission was made as the UP government tried to justify its decision to restrict movement between Delhi, and Noida and Ghaziabad.
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‘We have enough beds’
In its affidavit, the UP government told the court that the home ministry guidelines passed on 30 May, allowed states to enforce stricter guidelines based on their assessment of the situation.
It also referred to the central government’s guidelines dated 10 May on home isolation of very mild/pre-symptomatic Covid positive cases. These guidelines state that patients belonging to these categories, who have requisite facility at home, can opt for home isolation.
The UP government’s affidavit, however, also asserts, “The States are at liberty to enforce stricter guidelines based on their assessment of the situation, however, States may not dilute the enforcement of the guidelines.”
It informed the court that until 14 June, there were a total of 5,056 Covid-positive patients admitted in hospitals in the state. As opposed to this, it submitted, there are a total of over 1 lakh beds available in UP.
“Thus, looking into the public interest of public health of the State, the Government of Uttar Pradesh had issued detailed guidelines on 16.05.2020 whereby, Home Isolation of Covid positive patients (symptomatic or asymptomatic) are not permitted by the State,” it said.
The government also noted that it has laid down norms to allow only some asymptomatic contacts of Covid-positive patients, who have sufficient space, to isolate at home.
These norms require a separate room and bathroom for home quarantine, Aarogya Setu app to be downloaded, absence of high-risk individuals in the same house, and a flyer outside the house specifying the presence of an isolated person.
It has also issued detailed instructions for safety of people under home-quarantine, as well as for the family members of such people.
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