The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday an appeal filed by the Delhi government against the Delhi High Court's order staying its decision to reserve 80% ICU beds in 33 private hospitals for Covid-19 patients.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and B R Gavai would take up the Delhi government's plea for hearing on a vacation. The apex court is on Diwali break this week.
A single judge bench of the high court on Sept. 22 had stayed the Delhi government's September 12 decision saying that asking 33 big private hospitals to reserve 80% of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients would violate the fundamental rights of those having other health conditions.
The government has already challenged the single judge's stay order before a division bench of the high court which has listed it for hearing on Nov. 27. While staying the Delhi government's order, the high court had come down heavily on it asking whether the non-Covid-19 patients have a right to life or not.
It had observed that prima facie, the government's order was arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed under the Constitution.
The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech prevented more than 90% of infections in a study, the most encouraging scientific advance so far in the battle against the coronavirus. U.S. regulators approved Eli Lilly’s new antibody therapy, widening access to a treatment for mild to moderate Covid-19 cases in adults and children.
The U.S. surpassed 10 million cases and appears poised to hit record hospitalisations later this week, with numbers soaring in populous Midwest states and along the Mexico border. President-elect Joe Biden announced a new 13-member coronavirus task force and warned of a “dark winter” ahead as the disease spreads unabated.
Globally, confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 50.7 million, including more than 1.26 million deaths.
Track all news updates around the Covid-19 outbreak in India, here.
