By PTI
INDORE: An audio clip of a suspected tout demanding Rs 60,000 from family members of a COVID-19 patient for securing a bed in the state-run Super Speciality Hospital here in Madhya Pradesh has gone viral, prompting the management to seek a probe by the police.
In the audio clip, a voice can be heard asking an unidentified member of the patient’s family to pay Rs 60,000 for securing a bed in the hospital of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College.
“Taking cognisance of the viral clip, we have written a letter to the police for a probe,” said College Dean Dr Sanjay Dixit.
A total of 91,015 people have so far tested positive for coronavirus in Indore district since March 24, 2020.
The count of COVID-19 fatalities in the district is 1,054, as per officials.
The state on Monday reported the highest-ever single-day spike of 12,897 fresh coronavirus cases, while 79 more patients succumbed to the infection, the state health department said.
The state’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 4,20,977, while the death toll increased to 4,636, department officials said.
The previous highest one-day spike was 12,248 COVID- 19 cases, reported on April 18.
In April so far, the state has recorded 1,25,466 new cases and 650 fatalities.
A total of 6,836 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recoveries in Madhya Pradesh to 3,41,783, the department said.
With 1,698 new cases, Indore’s caseload went up to 91,015, while that of Bhopal rose to 70,273 with the addition of 1,703 cases.
Indore reported seven deaths, taking the toll in the district to 1,054, while fatalities in Bhopal rose 679 with five more deaths, the officials said.
Indore is now left with 11,804 active cases, while Bhopal has 8,934 patients under treatment, they said.
The number of active cases in the state rose to 74,558, the officials said.
With 50,942 new tests, the number of samples examined for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh rose to 71,27,647.
Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 4,20,977, new cases 12,897, death toll 4,636, recovered 3,41,783, active cases 74,558, number of tests conducted so far 71,27,647.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court also on Monday issued notices to the Union and MP governments on a petition seeking direction to “prosecute and punish” the persons responsible for the coronavirus spread in the central Indian state.
The HC also issued notices to the Election Commission of India and the State Election Commission on the petitioner PC Paliwal’s contention that top politicians and political workers from MP participated in the electioneering for the Damoh assembly bypoll and elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerela and Puducherry “without caring for a face mask and social distancing”.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Atul Shreedharan heard the petition virtually.
Shortage of medical oxygen and medicines, black marketing of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, insufficient infrastructure in hospitals, dead bodies waiting for their turn for hours for last rites in crematoriums in Jabalpur and other parts of Madhya Pradesh are some of the points that Paliwal, a lawyer and one of the petitioners, sought to draw the high court’s attention.
Top politicians and political workers from MP participated in the electioneering for the Damoh bypoll and elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerela and Puducherry “without caring for a face mask and social distancing”, the petition said.
Such persons do not quarantine themselves and are openly moving in the public places after visiting the places where elections are taking place, which is a serious matter, it stated.
Apart from politicians, the police department, CRPF, Railways and other departments are sending their staff to the places where elections are taking place but they (such employees) return without following proper safety measures, the petition said.
It appears there is a complete failure of the government in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paliwal said.
The petitioners requested the HC to give directions to the respondents to take immediate steps with full capacity and strength towards preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection and its eradication.
The petitioners also sought directions from the HC to the electronic and print media to produce the videos and news items of election rallies and campaigning, dead bodies waiting for hours for the last rites and other related news, as and when directed.
The petition will be heard again on April 26.
The court also directed the state government to ensure the supply of life-saving drugs within an hour from the requisition made by doctors treating COVID-19 patients.
The high court also said the government can regulate the supply of Remdesivir injections and other life-saving drugs but the process must be hassle-free and that the supply of the drug should be time-bound, amicus curiae and senior advocate Naman Nagrath said.
The HC also observed that “being a national calamity and a country-wide problem, the union government should consider to arrange oxygen from the industrial use and if not sufficient, import it”.
“Similarly increase the production of Remdesivir and till such time it is not done it should consider to import it,” the HC said.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Atul Sreedharan observed: “The high court in an extraordinary situation like the present one, when they are brought to notice, cannot just play a silent spectator”.
The bench directed the state government to ensure that the supply of the drug be planned in such a way that the time limit from requisition made by treating doctors and the supply of medicines does not exceed an hour, Nagrath said.
“The state government may regulate the supply of Remdesivir injections and other life-saving drugs but the process adopted for this purpose should be hassle-free and should not be cumbersome,” the order said.
“Ordinarily these matters lie in the domain of the Executive, who has the responsibility to resolve all the identified problematic issues,” it said.
The order said one can easily imagine the situation of district headquarters, sub-divisions and rural areas where the disease of coronavirus is said to have made inroads.
“This is a scenario which is emerging from major cities like Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur,” the bench stated.
It said that all the hospitals, whether government or private, shall not refuse to attend to the patients suffering from other serious ailments and provide them timely treatment.
The Madhya Pradesh government should take over the buildings of government and private schools/colleges, training centres, marriage halls, hotels and stadiums etc to set up covid care and dedicated health centres, the order said.
The government might do so either itself or by involving the private hospitals or reputed NGOs, it said.
The HC also directed the state government to take steps to set up more electric crematoriums in at least big cities and get repaired those which are out of order.
The bench said the government should consider suggestions of the Indian Medical Association and the MP Nursing Home Association to provide a soft loan to set up its own air separation Units.
The HC said the state government should place on record the correct data with regard to number of sanctioned posts and working strength of senior specialists, specialists, medical officers, health officers, Ayush medical officers, paramedical staff and technicians.
“Looking at the scarcity of the adequate number of medical staff in the emergent situation, the state government should consider reappointing the medical officers, paramedical and nursing staff, who have retired during past two to three years, to cope up with the ongoing crisis,” it stated.
The HC further directed the government to take stock of the day-to-day situation of the number of patients, availability of beds, ICU beds and ventilators, and as per the requirement, consider enhancing the capacity to cater to the need of a given place.
The state government shall ensure displaying of data with regard to the availability of normal beds, ICU beds and ventilators on its ‘Sarthak’ portal of all government and private hospitals/ nursing homes on a real-time basis.
The HC said the government shall, if it has not already notified the rates, fix the rates for being charged by the private hospitals/nursing homes and private pathological labs/ diagnostic centres for treatment/tests in consonance with its earlier orders by indicating capping of such charges and should ensure that these rates are adhered to by them.
“Being a national calamity and a country-wide problem, the union government should consider to arrange oxygen from the industrial use and if not sufficient, import it. Similarly, increase production of Remdesivir and till such time it is not done it should consider to import it,” the order said.
The HC pronounced the order after taking on record the action plan of the state government and the submissions of other counsels appearing in a bunch of petitions during the hearing held last week.
Meanwhile, black marketeers of Remdesivir injections in Indore district, which is the worst hit by the pandemic in the state, will be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), a senior official said on Monday.
Besides, the administration has launched a process under the NSA to prosecute a doctor and a medical representative caught black-marketing the scarce antiviral drug the previous day.
“Complaints are coming in that staffers of small hospitals are involved in black-marketing of Remdesivir. We are going to send such people to jail under the NSA,” district collector Manish Singh told reporters here.
He said the distribution of Remdesivir injections was being closely monitored.
“We are going to prosecute directors of the hospitals involved in black marketing (of Remdesivir),” he added.
The collector said a spike in the demand for the injection coupled with a dip in its supply was the main reason behind the shortage of the drug.
Singh said the supply of the injection will pick up in the coming days.
So far, 91,015 people have been tested positive for coronavirus in Indore district since March 24, 2020.
The count of COVID-19 fatalities in the district is 1,054, as per officials.
The state also announced to provide free ration to all eligible beneficiaries for the next three months.
The government also asked officials to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against those involved in the black marketing of life-saving drugs.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made the announcement at a video conferencing meeting with district collectors.
The meeting was held to take stock of the coronavirus situation in the state, which has seen a spurt in cases in the last few weeks, leading the authorities to impose a slew of curbs on movement of people and non-essential activities.
In view of the pandemic, the entire three months’ stock of foodgrains can be collected at one go to avoid frequent visits to ration shops set up under the public distribution system (PDS), he said.
All eligible poor residents of the state will get three months ration for free from fair price shops (PDS outlets).
“Three months’ ration will be given together so that people need not visit such shops frequently, he told the district collectors.
Chouhan told them to invoke the NSA, under which one can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months, against those involved in the black marketing of important drugs.
Those selling life-saving injections at higher prices should not be spared, he said.
During the past one week, the police have caught some people in Bhopal, Indore and other cities on charges of black marketing Remdesivir, a key antiviral drug for treating COVID-19 whose demand has shot up.
Chouhan said there would be no shortage of money in tackling the pandemic.
Efforts have been made on a war footing to provide adequate medical oxygen for treating critical coronavirus patients in the state, he said.
Remdesivir injections are also being supplied to hospitals continuously, Chouhan said.
The chief minister told the district collectors to set up containment zones in affected areas under their jurisdiction to control the spread of COVID-19.
