New Delhi: Coming down heavily on the Delhi government for not "waking up to the alarming COVID-19 situation in the capital on its own," the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the government as to what stopped it from enforcing strict safety protocols despite "seeing which way the wind was blowing beginning November."
The Division Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad, using strong words to rap the government for its "lax attitude" said, "You passed the October 31 order mandating a ceiling of 200 persons for social gatherings even when you saw which way the wind was blowing effective from early November."
"You (Delhi government) saw from November 1 which way the wind was blowing. But you turn turtle now because we asked you some questions. The bell should have rung loud and clear when the figures started spiraling in Delhi…why did we have to shake you out of slumber?" Justice Kohli remarked.
When the government said it was alive of the situation, the court said, "Why weren't you alive in the 18 whole days? Do you know the number of lives lost till now? Do you feel the pain and pinch of those who lost their loved ones? Burials grounds are loaded…this is not being
alive".
The court added, "Funeral pyres are burning throughout the night…what steps have you taken to manage
these?"
Also, noting several disparities in the number of fines issued for COVID-19 violation, the court questioned why certain districts showed so few fines being imposed. "Fines aren't meant to just collect revenue and should act as a deterrent to make the public realize their responsibilities," the court said.
And when the matter of testing was brought, the court again reprimanded the Delhi government for not being able to ramp up RT-PCR tests fast enough. "Delhi government should have been alive to the fact that RAT is not effective," it said.
The court also questioned as to why the government hasn't yet conducted a fifth sero survey report despite the capital facing the third wave of infection and Delhi ministers telling the media that the capital has already peaked the third wave "but it is not reflected in the ground
situation."
"Not every patient has the space to self-isolate themselves in their homes while at the same time those with mild symptoms shouldn't be admitted to hospitals for fear of cross-infection," the court said, directing the Delhi government to file a report by November 26 on the status of care homes and funeral homes and crematoriums in the city. It added that government hospitals should operationalise ICU beds within a week and directed the Delhi government to publicise ICU bed reservation at private
hospitals.