SHILLONG, Feb 10: The division bench of the High Court of Meghalaya has directed the state government to continue its efforts to arrest the pandemic based on medical advice and scientific reports and ensure that there is no loss of life.
Acting on an earlier directive, the Secretary, Health department, filed a detailed affidavit indicating the present position pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The affidavit states that the third wave of the pandemic has peaked in the state and the positivity rate has declined from the peak level of 13.6% to below 8%. Nearly 40% of the positive cases are said to have been asymptomatic and the rate of hospitalisation was nominal.
The affidavit also detailed the effective measures taken for vaccination and it appears that 71% of vaccination of the first dose has been completed and more than 51% of the second dose has also been administered. In addition, the administration of the booster dose has commenced in the state.
The measures taken by the state government, the notifications issued, the awareness programmes conducted to ensure that the pandemic does not spread and the precautionary measures adopted have been detailed in the affidavit.
“In the light of the measures taken, no interference is called for by the Court. Let the matter now appear four weeks hence for a further status report to be filed,” the order said.
The Court also observed that in the light of the said affidavit, it appears that the functioning of the High Court may be altered from the complete virtual mode as of now to a hybrid mode in course of next week and, depending on the position at the end of the next week, regular physical hearing may be resumed soon thereafter.
However, the hearing on the virtual mode should be an option, particularly for those more vulnerable and those not willing to travel to Court.
The PIL will be heard again on March 10, 2022.
