Decide Representation For Isolation Centre For Poor: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Centre and Delhi government to decide the representation of a trust seeking to set up isolation centres equipped with medical facilities for the poor and children at government schools in the national capital.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued the direction while hearing a PIL on the same issue filed by the trust.

The court said the representation by the Mahatma Hazarilal Memorial Trust be decided in accordance with the law, rules, regulations and government policy applicable to the case.

The trust had sought an amendment to the current home isolation policy, claiming it was proving to be a failure for the majority of the population as not everyone has a separate room to spare to isolate a family member infected by COVID-19.

"Under the home isolation policy, the infected person ought to be given a separate room with an attached toilet so as to avoid minimal physical contact with other members. There should also be a caretaker for the infected person."

"But in reality, how many of the lower-middle-class homes can afford to have a separate room with an attached toilet and a caretaker for the infected person. Resultantly, more and more family members are getting infected creating patient load on city hospitals and problems for family members at large," the petition had said.

The plea had also sought healthcare management facilities and isolation centres for children on grounds that several medical experts were of the opinion that when the third wave of the pandemic comes, children could be affected more by it.