New Delhi: With the adults of the world staying more alert and conscious of the growing health hazards, toddlers too are becoming vocal about their safety and the risks they are at.
A two-year old boy has reached the Delhi High Court to file a petition against the decision of the city government which prevents asymptomatic patients from getting tested for covid-19. In the plea, the boy has said that he is at a high risk of contracting the disease as his family consists of working individuals.
Due to the easing of lockdown restrictions in Delhi, people are now going to their work places for their respective jobs. To this, the boy says that it will have a negative impact on his health as the family members are asymptomatic but could be potential carriers of the virus, exposing him to it.
“The petitioner is a minor boy (2 years old) who resides with a joint family comprising of working members who would be resuming work/regular office pursuant to the ‘Unlockdown’ as announced by the Delhi government. Like several other similar minors and other residents of Delhi, the petitioner is at considerable risk of contacting Covid-19 through these members due to restriction on movements being lifted,” the plea filed by the boy, through his father, said.
Advocate Arjun Syal and Vidisha Gupta have filed the petition in which the petitioner says, “Moreover, the situation has been further aggravated due to discontinuation of testing of asymptomatic cases, shortage of requisite healthcare infrastructure such as hospital beds and ventilators, etc.”
A court division bench consisting of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan will be hearing the plea on Wednesday.
The petition also argued that restraining the testing of asymptomatic cases is violation of the testing guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research periodically.
“The impugned action of impairing the aforesaid testing vis-a-vis asymptomatic Covid 19 patients is arbitrary, mechanical and moreover passed mechanically without application of mind and or ascertaining to the cascading effect on already worsening spread of pandemic in the state,” the plea said.
The thought-provoking petition also said that the government’s decision to ease the norms, allowing free movement of people at one side and ceasing the testing of asymptomatic patients is “mutually contradictory”.
The petitioner claimed that the asymptomatic patients are highly infectious and can widely contaminate the environment in a very short time and moreover, are essentially the carriers of the disease.
“While a symptomatic patient can be quarantined and be provided appropriate medical healthcare, it is the asymptomatic category that are likely to unknowingly spread the same to minors, senior citizens and other high risk category individuals, thereby seriously impairing their health and putting them in serious life risking situations,” the petitioner said.
The plea stated that resorting to testing of asymptomatic patients would largely help in spotting the covid-19 positive cases and isolating them with the help of precautionary methods, along with the assistance from authorities. This would help in battling with the virus and keeping the ‘category of people at utmost risk’ safer and prevent the further spread of infection to healthy individuals in Delhi.
