Migrant workers arriving from neighboring states line up as they wait to undergo Covid-19 rapid antigen testing at a temporary facility set up at the Anand Vihar inter-state bus terminal in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg)
5 years ago
Aug 28, 2020
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The NHRC has written to heads of prisons in various states and union territories asking them to provide details about medical infrastructure and best practices followed by them with respect to Covid-19 management, officials said.
The rights panel has sent them a six-point questionnaire on the condition of prisons, they said. "The NHRC has written to DGs and IGs of prisons of all states and UTs to apprise the commission of medical infrastructure and best practices followed there in connection with Covid-19 pandemic and how to tackle the situation," an official said.
Responses are expected by Aug. 31, he added.
Last week, the NHRC had decided that jailed poet and activist Varavara Rao's medical report, sent by the Maharashtra government in response to its notices, will be examined by domain experts on its panel.
Rao, a Telugu poet and intellectual, is lodged in Maharashtra's Taloja jail for about two years, the NHRC said in a statement. He had tested positive for Covid-19.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote to Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhrial 'Nishank' on Thursday, urging him to postpone the JEE and NEET.
Soren said that since there is no way to detect and prevent a Covid-positive candidate from appearing in the examination, it would put the rest of the people present in a venue at the risk of being infected.
"...conduct of examinations of this scale would require public transport and hospitality units such as hotels, lodges and restaurants to function smoothly and optimally because of the movement of a large number of examinees and their guardians," he said.
However, the state government has neither permitted public buses to resume services nor allowed the opening of hotels and restaurants in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, he added. "Thus the examinees and their guardians are likely to face serious logistic issues," the chief minister said.
Soren further said that there would be some examinees who live in containment zones and it will be difficult for them to move out of the area.
The number of Americans killed by Covid-19 surpassed 180,000. France reported the most daily virus cases since March even as Europe seeks to avoid a repeat of large-scale lockdowns. Japan’s most recent and largest wave of infections is showing signs of subsiding.
Globally, cases crossed 24.2 million leaving over 8,28,000 dead, as of Friday morning.
Track all Covid-19 related news and updates in India, here.
