HC suggests mass testing of COVID-19 in UP

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday suggested the Uttar Pradesh government to do mass testing of COVID-19 in the state.

"To begin with forming a procedure for the city of Prayagraj to undergo mass systematic testing and if we are able to succeed in the experiment then the rest of the district of Prayagraj and thereafter all the districts of the State of UP can emulate the process, the court said.

The bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar passed the order in response to a Public Interest Litigation on the condition of quarantine centers in the state.

The HC also asked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to apprise it on the issue of installation of COVID-19 testing machines on a large scale in the state.

"When the Prime Minister talked to chief ministers of various states, he stressed on the importance of widespread testing. If widespread testing is done then people who are not infected can go out to work fearlessly and help the country to change the sprouting economy into a lush green one.

If systematic tests are done then people who are infected would not go out and would surely quarantine themselves in their homes or in the accommodations provided by the government, it said.

Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, who was representing the state government, informed the court that so far 1,865 COVID-19 hotspots have been declared in the northern state.

He also informed the court that 17.06 lakh migrant labourers had been tested and 3,950 tested positive for the disease.

The court fixed June 25 as the next date of hearing in the case.