“Considering that the next Covid pandemic is far from over and in fact, active, amongst the community, today, as per news reports, the vacuum, if any, of steps taken post the meeting of May 30, 2023, is a serious issue,” the judge said
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s (MoHFW’s) latest update on Monday, the country’s active Covid-19 caseload has surged by four fold to 3,961 within a week
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court recently observed the “next Covid pandemic” was far from over as it asked for details on the Centre’s preparedness for the collection of samples, centres and transport policy.
Justice Girish Kathpalia said though it was sanguine that the steps and protocols would be in place, the same ought to be brought on record by the authorities concerned.
“Considering that the next Covid pandemic is far from over and in fact, active, amongst the community, today, as per news reports, the vacuum, if any, of steps taken post the meeting of May 30, 2023, is a serious issue,” the judge said.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s (MoHFW’s) latest update on Monday, the country’s active Covid-19 caseload has surged by four fold to 3,961 within a week, with 566 new infections and four deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
The four fatalities included one each from Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
Kerala, currently the worst-hit state, accounts for 1,435 active cases, followed by Maharashtra (506), Delhi (483), Gujarat (338), and West Bengal (331).
Other states with rising numbers include Karnataka (253), Tamil Nadu (189), Uttar Pradesh (157), and Rajasthan (69).
The Delhi High Court’s May 28 order further said, “This assumes certain urgency, considering that there are wide reports of COVID-19, being active in the community, as on date; it would, therefore, be expected from the respondent to crystallise an urgent set of measures, in order that these SoPs are in place and whatever decision was taken in the meeting, has reached its proper conclusion.”
The court was hearing a contempt plea filed by one Dr Rohit Jain alleging non-compliance by the authorities of an order passed by the division bench of the high court on January 27, 2023.
The bench had disposed of Jain’s plea on the issue while directing the Central government to treat it as a representation and decide it within 12 weeks through a reasoned order.
Jain submitted despite the orders, no guidelines were framed by the Centre with respect to establishing minimum standards for sample collection, centres and transport.
The court said the Centre’s standing counsel Monika Arora should ensure that officers concerned were apprised of the court’s directions and place a status report within the six weeks.
The court then posted the hearing on July 18.
It was informed that a meeting was held under the chairmanship of additional director general of health services on May 30, 2023 and the petitioner was also invited.
In the meeting, a decision to constitute four sub-committees of experts of pathology, biochemistry, haematology and microbiology was arrived at.
The committee members from the Centre-run hospitals were to define standards of procedure for sample collection, sample collection centres and the sample transport policy and submit a report.
The guidelines were to include storage standards as well.
The court, however, noted that there was no update provided by the authorities on the minutes of the meeting.
Even though on first blush, the contempt petition may not subsist considering the decision that was taken to form the sub-committees, it said.
As per the data, the number of deaths across multiple states due to Covid-19, since January 1, 2025, surged to 22.
The highest number of deaths have been reported from Maharashtra (7), followed by Kerala (5), and Delhi (2).
The highest number of deaths have been reported from Maharashtra (7), followed by Kerala (5), and Delhi (2).
Meanwhile, 255 patients were discharged or migrated in the last 24 hours, indicating an improvement in recovery.
The cumulative number of recovered cases since January 1 stands at 1,170. Kerala (72), Delhi (77), and Maharashtra (34) contributed the highest number of recoveries on the day.
As per the latest data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), set up under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NB.1.8.1 and LF.7 — descendants of JN.1 Covid variant in the country –are responsible for the rise in SARS-CoV-2 cases in the country.
So far, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not classified either LF.7 or NB.1.8 as Variants of Concern (VOCs) or Variants of Interest (VOIs).
While these variants may have the capability to evade immunity, there is currently no evidence to suggest they could cause severe long-term infection.
Common symptoms associated with these variants include fever, runny nose, sore throat, headaches, fatigue, and exhaustion.
Recently, Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Director General at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) assured the country that there is nothing to worry about as the infections are not severe.
Bahl also assured that the government is actively monitoring the cases.
At the same time, he stressed the need for “increasing vigilance, and to be prepared” in case of a surge in cases.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has issued guidelines to all hospitals in the national Capital to ensure the availability of beds, oxygen, medicines, and vaccines.
She stated that the government is closely monitoring Covid cases and “there is no panic situation”.