The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed displeasure at the Delhi government for failing to clarify again whether every pregnant woman who goes to a hospital for delivery or urgent treatment is required to undergo COVID-19 test, symptomatic or not.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan remarked that the Delhi government’s counsel has been unable to give any clarity on the issue despite over four hearings in the case. A genuine human problem has been turned into a “bureaucratic nightmare”, the Bench said, highlighting that a pregnant women do not go to a hospital 48 hours before the delivery.
“Sometimes they go at the last moment... As per your status report, they will be kept in isolation till declaration of results without a family member close by. What kind of society are we living in?” the High Court asked.
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The court noted that the July 5 order of the Delhi government had stated that all ‘at high risk’, like aged people and those suffering from serious ailments like cancer, when approaching a hospital for treatment of non-COVID ailments need to undertake the rapid antigen detection test (RADT) before being admitted.
It pointed out that the order does not include the category of pregnant women, but the status report filed by the Delhi government before the court said they are included.
The court also pointed out that while the Delhi government’s advisories had said that all pregnant women have to undergo testing before being admitted, the Delhi government has taken a different stand in the High Court that asymptomatic pregnant women do not have to undergo testing as a pre-condition for being admitted. The court also directed the Delhi government to clarify on the total time taken for a pregnant woman to request for the test, the collection of samples and the declaration of the result. It has posted the case for further hearing on July 15.
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