News Analysis India

Tag: covid origin

  • Will focus on dealing with pandemic here than to delve in conspiracy theories: Supreme Court

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday said there are many articles and a lot of literature in the open on the origin of COVID-19 Delta variant and it would rather focus on dealing with the pandemic than delve into conspiracy theories.

    The top court made this observation while refusing to entertain a petition seeking direction to Centre to set up an international task force, composed of national and international experts (including those from China) in consultation with this court, for finding scientific answers about the Delta variant’s origin and the extent to which it was responsible for the second wave of COVID-19.

    A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli said the petitioner NGO ‘Abhinav Bharat Congress’ and its president Pankaj K Phadnis should approach the government for the constitution of the international task force.

    “You should approach the government with your prayer and make a representation. We don’t have jurisdiction over citizens of China or for that matter citizens of the USA. If they want to constitute a task force to find out the origin they can do so, we cannot do,” the bench said.

    Phadnis said the origin of the Delta variant of COVID-19 is still a mystery and some experts have said that it originated in Amravati, Maharashtra, while other experts have said different things.

    He said that from April to June 2021, more than 2,50,000 Indians — by official count, while credible reports put this number higher by a factor of 15 — have lost their lives due to COVID-19.

    “We know there are a lot of articles and literature in the open with regard to the Delta variant of COVID-19 but we would like to focus on dealing with the pandemic here rather than to devolve into conspiracy theories,” the bench said.

    Phadnis, appearing in-person, said the court may record in the order that the government may consider his representation.

    “No, we will not say any such thing in the order. You can always go to the government. They are there for the citizens of the country,” the bench said, while disposing of the petition.

    Phadnis has said in the plea that during the second wave of COVID-19, there were many days when more than 4,00,000 cases and thousands of deaths were recorded.

    “Even today more than 40,000 cases are being recorded with hundreds of deaths per day.

    Grim images of wailing relatives of patients, ever burning pyres and dead bodies floating in the river have come to forever sear the consciousness of any sane person,” the plea said.

    It said that Indians are presently barred from entry in most countries across the world including UK and USA, where many Indians live causing untold misery to their near and dear ones in India.

    “There is no proper knowledge in the public domain with respect to what precisely caused this massive continuing tragedy.

    Lack of COVID appropriate behaviour, large religious festivals, assembly elections, lackadaisical approach of Centre to procure vaccines have been cited as reasons,” the plea said.

    However, there is yet no all India scientific data to prove that the so-called second wave of the pandemic that caused death and devastation in India was dominated by this Delta variant of COVID-19, it said.

  • India supports WHO’s call for detailed studies on origins of coronavirus: External Affairs Ministry

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India on Friday supported renewed global calls for a comprehensive investigation by the WHO into the origins of COVID-19, days after US President Joe Biden asked American intelligence agencies to find out how coronavirus emerged in China.

    There were growing demands by a sizeable number of countries including the US and Australia to investigate whether the virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 from an animal source or from a laboratory accident in December 2019 In March, the World Health Organisation (WHO) came out with a report on the origins of the virus but it had failed to meet the expectations of the US and several other leading countries.

    External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the follow up of the WHO report and further studies deserve the understanding and cooperation of all.

    “The WHO convened global study on the origin of COVID-19 is an important first step.

    It stressed the need for next phase studies as also for further data and studies to reach robust conclusions,” he said.

    Bagchi was responding to media queries on the issue.

    “The follow up of the WHO report and further studies deserve the understanding and cooperation of all,” he said.

    During the probe by the WHO earlier this year, the US and several other countries expressed concerns over Chinese authorities not providing complete data to the WHO team probing the origin of the virus.

    President Biden had on Wednesday ordered the US intelligence agencies to “redouble” their efforts in investigating the emergence of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and report back to him in 90 days.

    “I have now asked the intelligence community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyse information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,” Biden had said.

    “As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.

    I have also asked that this effort include work by our national labs and other agencies of our government to augment the intelligence community’s efforts,” the US president had said.