Srinagar: J&K High Court on Friday directed a notice to the J&K administration seeking its response on home quarantine of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in the union territory.
The direction was issued in an application by Mian Tufail Ahmad, a J&K High Court lawyer.
The petitioner sought a direction for immediate decision on the recommendations of the Apex Level Committee that has called for home isolation of the asymptomatic novel coronavirus patients.
The petitioner sought a direction upon the respondents “to examine the Covid-19 positive patients before keeping them in the hospitals, and in case it is found that the patient is ASYMPTOMATIC, he or she should be kept in home isolation as per the recommendations of the Apex Level Committee.”
An Apex Level Advisory Committee on Treatment Protocol and related Medical Issues for Covid-19 was constituted by J&K government vide order No. 647-jk(GAD) of 2020 dated 15-06-2020.
The petition said the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is struggling to cope up with the rising number of Covid-19 positive cases.
It said a committee was constituted to come up with certain important recommendations with regard to treatment protocol and related medical issues on the pandemic.
“One of the important problems at this stage” according to the petition “is the dearth of beds in hospitals for which the apex committee has come up with the recommendations with regard to isolation and discharge policy of Covld-19 positive patients.”
A classification has been done by the committee by virtue of which procedure has been laid down with regard to those patients who are asymptomatic, it said.
“It has been suggested that the patients who are educated, have insight into their illness, and show responsibility to the community and have isolation facility, can be safely isolated at home with certain precautions to be followed,” read the petition.
The policy of keeping asymptomatic patients in home Isolation has been followed by almost all the states across India as the same is in the public as well as in patient’s interest, it read further.
The petitioner lawyer prayed that the respondent authorities in J&K be directed to take immediate decision on the recommendations of the Apex Level Advisory Committee on Treatment Protocol and related Medical Issues for Covid-19.
