Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and M. Nirmal Kumar granted time till May 13 for Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal to file a comprehensive status report, with supporting documents, on the number of PPEs distributed to front line staff. The interim order was passed on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocate S. Jimraj Milton.
by
Sekar Reporter
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April 30, 2020
[4/30, 13:33] Sekarreporter: HC seeks report on provision of PPE to healthcare workers: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/hc-seeks-report-on-provision-of-ppe-to-healthcare-workers/article31467416.ece [4/30, 13:33] Sekarreporter: Court takes note of staff testing positive The Madras High Court has taken serious note of the fact that doctors, paramedical staff and sanitation workers of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) have tested positive for COVID-19. It has called for a report from the State government on the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to front line workers, in the fight against the disease. Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and M. Nirmal Kumar granted time till May 13 for Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal to file a comprehensive status report, with supporting documents, on the number of PPEs distributed to front line staff. The interim order was passed on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocate S. Jimraj Milton. [4/30, 13:34] Sekarreporter: The petitioner had insisted upon issuing PPE kits not just to doctors, nurses and other hospital staff but also to police personnel, electricity and telecommunication staff and others involved in delivering essential services. He pointed out that these workers were risking their lives to protect others and some of them had, in the process, contracted the disease. During the course of the hearing through video-conferencing, the judges took note of a newspaper report published on Monday regarding the Madras Medical College hostel having been shut after two postgraduate students reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and the source having been traced to a sanitation worker at the hostel. The judges recorded in their interim order that some doctors in RGGGH had complained to the newspaper of not having been provided a sufficient number of PPE kits to protect themselves from COVID-19. “This court is concerned about doctors, nurses, sanitation workers and policemen who are the forefront warriors,” they said. Further, appreciating the services rendered by those in the Revenue Administration Department as well as local bodies, the judges said their interests should also be taken care of by the State. The Bench added that guidelines had been issued by the National Centre for Disease Control to make PPE kits mandatory in the checklist for isolation rooms and hence doctors could not be denied of it.