The Telangana High Court on Tuesday sought a fresh status report from the state government on the steps taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the new virus type, Omicron.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili, hearing a batch of PILs related to COVID-19, also sought a report from the expert committee that advises the state government on measures to check the infectious disease. Earlier, lawyers appearing for various petitioners requested the HC to direct the government to consider taking all steps to ensure that the pandemic does not rear its head, as in the second wave last year. happened.
Advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar repeatedly requested the bench to hear cases in virtual mode in the backdrop of rapid rise in COVID cases. He also wanted the government to close all schools, saying that children were exposed to the new version as more vulnerable.
Advocate Ravichandran appealed to the bench to hear the pleas related to COVID even during the Sankranti holiday for the HC as the positive cases were increasing manifold. Advocate General BS Prasad presented the status report filed by the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare on the measures initiated by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic.
He informed the HC that all precautions are being taken by the government, as the new version is spreading its nets much faster than other versions like Delta in the background. He said that the government is imposing fines on persons who do not follow the COVID-appropriate behavior like not wearing masks.
Meanwhile, the HC announced immediate suspension of physical hearing of cases by all Divisions and Single Benches of HC till further orders in the backdrop of rapidly rising COVID-19 cases. The HC notification, however, states that judges will have the discretion to hear cases either physically or virtually.
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