Urge Centre, states to seriously consider lockdown to curb spread of Covid: Supreme Court

A Supreme Court bank on Sunday urged the central and state governments to seriously consider a lockdown to break the chain of Covid transmission and take special precautions for vulnerable parts of society.

File photo of an effigy to draw attention to Covid-19 (Image credit: PTI)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The SC instructed the center to record efforts to contain the spread of viruses
• Consider banning mass gatherings, super-spreader events: SC to Center, States
• We are aware of the socio-economic impact of a lockdown, the monitoring committee said in its order

The Supreme Court of India on Sunday advised the central and state governments to consider a lockdown to break the chain of Covid transmission. The country’s highest court issued a ruling on the matter after hearing from officials about measures to combat the second wave of the pandemic.

“Given the continued increase in infections in the second wave of the pandemicWe are instructing the central and state governments to record efforts to contain the spread of the virus and the actions they plan to take in the near future, “the Supreme Court said.

The order continued: “At the same time, we would like to seriously urge the central and state governments to consider banning mass gatherings and super-spreader events. They might also consider putting a lockdown to keep the virus in.” the second wave. ” in the interest of the common good. “

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India’s Apex Court also said precautions must be taken to protect vulnerable areas during a lockdown.

“We are aware of that socio-economic impact of lockdownespecially on the marginalized communities. In the event that the lockdown measure is imposed, precautions must be taken in advance to meet the needs of these communities, “the Supreme Court decision said.

In March of last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown to break the chain of transmission. While experts disagree on whether the lockdown could have been better planned, the sudden move led to it Thousands of migrant workers take to the streets and go walking for days to return to their homeland.

India recorded 3.92 lakh new confirmed cases of infection on Sunday. At the same time, the virus claimed an additional 3,689 deaths across the country in the past 24 hours. This sharp rise in cases is putting enormous pressure on the country’s healthcare system, resulting in a shortage of hospital beds and medical oxygen equipment.

In parts of the country, various state governments are already imposing a number of severe restrictions, including night and weekend curfews and the enforcement of Section 144 of the CrPC.

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