BISHESHWAR MISHRA / NEW DELHI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that “anyone can get tested” for COVID 19 in the national capital. His announcement came after the Delhi High Court ruling that stated that those who want to get tested for coronavirus infections do not need to have a doctor’s prescription,
“The Delhi government has increased testing multi-fold. I directed the Health Minister this morning that doctor’s prescription should not be asked for testing. Anyone can get himself tested,” Kejriwal said.
The High Court earlier in the day ordered that doctor’s prescription will not be a mandatory requirement now onwards for those who voluntarily want to get an RT/PCR test in Delhi.
The bench, headed by Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad, however said that people must carry their Aadhaar Cards for an address proof in Delhi and fill up a form as prescribed by the Indian Council of Medical Research for Covid testing.
The court asked private laboratories to allow 2,000 Covid tests a day for those who want to undergo voluntarily diagnosis. As of now, the Delhi government has a capacity of around 12,000 tests per day.
The Centre earlier in the day highlighted the repeated complaints from states that people are showing laxity in taking precautions against the Covid-19 virus.
NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul, who heads the Covid national task force, emphasised on the importance of testing in the fight to contain the pandemic.
“People should not be afraid of getting tested. They should come forward to get themselves tested for Covid-19 if they have symptoms,” he said while addressing a press briefing in New Delhi.
Paul said there have been repeated complaints from states about people being careless about safety precautions.
“We are getting repeated complaints from states that people have become lax (in taking precautions),” he told media persons.
With single-day spike of 75,809 cases and record 1,133 deaths, India’s COVID-19 tally nears 43 lakh mark
