"Misleading And Unacceptable", Uttarakhand High Court Slams Government's COVID-19 Deaths Audit

The Uttrakhand High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the state government for what it termed as a "totally vague, sham and misleading" audit report on COVID-19 deaths in the state.

Earlier this month the HC while hearing a bunch of PILs alleging delays in reporting Covid deaths by hospitals had ordered the government to conduct an audit of Covid deaths in the state and submit its report by June 21.

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A division Bench of the court comprising Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Verma on Wednesday said that the 700-page affidavit filed in the court is misleading.

¡°Stop fooling us and tell us the truth. Don't tell the Chief Justice that there is Ram Rajya in Uttarakhand and that we live in heaven. Show us the ground realities,¡± the high court said.

The court reprimanded the government and said that the reason for the deaths due to COVID-19 was the incomplete preparations by the government.

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The court also said: "The government did not follow the rules of COVID as recently on the day of Ganga Dussehra, thousands of people took a bath in Harki Paudi. No social distance, no mask, and no sanitation system were in place."

The HC also expressed its displeasure over the manner in which the was preparing to deal with the third wave of COVID-19 and asked it to gear up for Delta Plus mutant of the pandemic which according to experts spreads faster than any other variant.

Delta Plus variant of COVID will not sit back and wait for the government to get ready, the HC said.

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"The Delta Plus variant may spread within the next three months. The variant has already reached Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala", it said and also criticised the state government in fighting a double war with Corona and Black Fungus together.

The bench said the state government should tell about the ground realities keeping in mind all aspects of preparedness like ICUs, beds, oxygen concentrators and ambulances for children in the state.

"Will the government wake from its slumber when our children start dying in the third wave?" the court asked and directed the Health secretary to file an affidavit detailing preparatory steps taken by the government with regard to Children.

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The bench also expressed its displeasure upon the Health Secretary's advice of administering Vitamin C and Zinc to children for three months in preparation for the third wave.

It asked whether the process of buying medicines will be complete after the third wave strikes and also reprimanded the government for its mismanagement of black fungus.

¡°Keep in mind that we are fighting a double war with Corona and Black Fungus together and the state of your preparations is not hidden from anyone,¡± it said.

The Court further commented that while there is a need to work on a war footing during the epidemic, bureaucratic hurdles are being created to delay processes.

The Court also asked how 10 ventilators will suffice for children to fight the third wave in Dehradun. Similarly it also asked as to what is being done about 9 out of 11 defective ventilators in Rudraprayag.

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The Court further expressed its concern about districts like Bageshwar, Champawat and Almora and the preparedness and accessibility to hospitals in the face of a third wave of Corona.

It also questioned the Government on its claim of having adequate ambulances.

The handling of COVID-19 by the Uttarakhand Government had come under the spotlight after Kumbh Mela, earlier this year which led to a rise in the number of cases there.

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Against the advice of health experts, the Uttrakhand Government went ahead with the Kumbh meal, where the COVID-19 guidelines were hardly implemented.

What made matters worse is the revelation that more than 1 lakh fake COVID-19 negative certificates were issued by some labs to devotees, which could have led to the spread of the infection during the gathering.