Coronavirus: High Court pulls up AAP government for relaxing norms as cases spike in Delhi

New Delhi, November 11: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the AAP government for relaxing the norms of public gathering and movement in the capital even in the wake of a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.

A bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed the city government to submit a status report explaining the steps taken to control Covid-19, over fear of an impending spike in cases due to the upcoming festive season.

Terming the situation as “alarming”, the high court asked the city government if it has any strategy or policy in place to deal with the rising Covid-19 cases particularly when it had decided to unlock and relax the guidelines, The Hindu reported.

It questioned the rationale behind increasing the number of guests in ceremonies to 200 people, which was earlier capped at 100. It also queried why the Delhi government has now permitted public transport to be fully occupied, against the earlier rule to occupy alternate seats.

The high court expressed fear that during this festive season, the public are out in large numbers which could potentially become super spreader of the virus.

It pointed out that on November 10 the city recorded 8,593 new Covid-19 cases and the number of containment zones in the city were 4,016. It said Delhi was beating the whole State of Maharashtra and Kerala in COVID-19 infections in the past couple of weeks.

It reminded the government that as per the last Sero Survey report, the antibodies presence was detected in 25% of the persons tested which meant that one in four persons in the capital has been infected by Covid-19.

The high court asked the city government why it has not introduced any legislation to ensure compulsory wearing of mask in public places when was being termed as a vaccine till the actual vaccine comes.

The high court will hear the petition which had earlier sought to ramp up Covid-19 testing efforts in the Capital again on November 19.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/coronavirus-high-court-pulls-up-aap-government-for-relaxing-norms-as-cases-spike-in-delhi/article33073715.ece