Orissa High Court Seeks State's Response On Availability Of RT-PCR Testing Facilities In Rural Areas By July 20

The Orissa High Court last week sought response from the State government in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking urgent directions to ensure the availability of RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing facilities in rural areas of the State.

Taking cognisance of the aforementioned issue, a Bench comprising Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Savitri Ratho directed the State to file a report addressing the measures undertaken before the next date of hearing.

RT-PCR tests have been relied upon by concerned authorities to detect Covid-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic in India.

The petitioner in the plea had contended that the existing facilities for testing in rural and block levels of the State are severely inadequate. Further, with the suspension of public transport there exists considerable delay in obtaining results as samples collected take a prolonged time to reach District Headquarters for testing. It was also pointed out by the petitioner that isolation centers and ambulance services are not available in rural areas for critical patients.

The Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha has been directed to file an affidavit addressing the concerns raised in the plea before the next date of hearing.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 20.

Case Title: Sanjiv Joshi v. State of Odisha 

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