50% of the Supreme Court staff tests positive for COVID-19, Judges to work from home

India’s daily new coronavirus cases seem to be on a constant rise. As the nation grapples with the second wave of the Chinese virus, 50% of Supreme Court’s staff has tested positive for coronavirus. The Supreme Court judges will now be functioning from home and assembling through video conferencing.

The entire premises of the Supreme Court including courtrooms are being sanitized and the benches will assemble an hour later than the scheduled time. 

The decision was taken instantly to avoid a grim situation like last year when six Supreme Court judges had got infected with the coronavirus.

India has recorded a new peak with 1.68 lakhs new Covid-19 cases and 904 deaths in the last 24 hours. India is now the second country, just behind the United States to be affected by the second wave of Covid-19. 

Strengthening the vaccination drive

To inoculate the population at the earliest, the Union government launched a four-day Tika Utsav starting yesterday to encourage people above 45 years of age to get themselves vaccinated.

In the largest vaccination drive more than 27 lakh vaccination doses were administered on the first day of the Tika Utsav.

https://twitter.com/MoHFW_INDIA/status/1381282465109532676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

After the sudden spike in cases, many states reported an acute shortage of Remdevisir, a drug pertinent to the treatment of Covid-19. The government on Sunday has issued a ban on the export of Remdevisir injections with immediate effect till the situation improves. 

The government has also asked the domestic manufacturers to display the information of stockists and distributors on their website to facilitate access. 

States like Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab have reported a shortage of equipment from oxygen to ventilators. The hospital and ICU beds in these states are fast filling with no place to accommodate new patients in critical condition. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a review meeting on Sunday emphasized that mortality should be avoided under all circumstances. He directed the states to ramp up healthcare infrastructure, availability of oxygen, ventilators besides required logistics.