Telangana High Court directs govt to ramp up RT-PCR testing

Hyderabad, Jan 17 (IANS) The Telangana High Court on Monday directed the state government to ramp up daily numbers of RT-PCR tests for Covid-19.

The court asked the health authorities to conduct a lakh RT-PCR tests every day. It also directed them to provide separate details about the RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen tests in the daily Covid bulletin.

The court gave the directions while hearing petitions related to Covid situation in the state.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice N. Tukaramji underlined the need to be more alert to check the spread of Covid-19.

The court said Covid rules like social distancing and wearing of masks need to be strictly implemented.

During the hearing, Advocate General informed the court that the state Cabinet will be meeting later in the day to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the state.

The meeting to be presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to decide new measures to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The bench directed the government to submit a detailed report on the measures taken and adjourned the hearing to January 25.

The High Court's direction on RT-PCR tests is significant as the medical and health department in its daily Covid bulletin has not been sharing the break-up of the tests conducted on a daily basis.

The order came amid criticism for fewer covid tests conducted in the state.

The daily Covid cases in the state have surged five-fold since the beginning of the new year.

On an average, the state is reporting 2,000 new cases. On Sunday, the state logged 2,047 Covid cases. The health authorities conducted 55,883 Covid tests in the 24-hour period that ended at 5.30 p.m. Sunday.

The number of daily tests has come down due to Sankranti festival and weekend.

As part of its efforts to check the spread of Covid, the state government has already banned rallies, public meetings and other public gatherings.

It has also extended holidays for all educational institutions till January 30.

The state Cabinet is likely to take decisions on other measures like imposing night curfew.