NE LEGAL BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JULY 25
The state government has termed as “untenable and without any base” a demand by the Ahmedabad Medical Association (AMA) in the Gujarat High Court seeking an increase in daily COVID-19 tests “in proportion to the population”.
The state government said AMA members stand to benefit directly from such an increase in testing.
In a civil application to the suo motu PIL being heard on issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, the AMA sought HC’s direction to the state government to increase tests to 90,000 per day, or in proportion to the population, citing examples of some other states.
The Gujarat government said per day testing was not relatable to the population but to symptomatic and asymptomatic cases thereof.
“If the said direction is granted, then the same would directly benefit the members of the applicant association…. (the) Association has a direct vested interest…and the same cannot be considered in the main PIL. Increasing per day testing to 90,000 would only lead to a situation where members of the applicant association would directly be benefited,” it said in a reply filed in the court on Friday.
The government said the AMA has not effectively raised any other contention for seeking this prayer except comparing figures with other states.
The state government told HC it was testing 13,000 samples per day presently.
“It is nobody’s case that the testing guideline of the ICMR, as being implemented by the respondent state, is improper and illegal. In view of this, seeking an increase in tests per day in proportion to the population of the state of Gujarat is not tenable and without any base,” it said.
The government also said it had developed a mechanism to ensure people do not have to travel from one district to another to get themselves tested for COVID-19 for want of a laboratory facility there.
Samples are collected in the nearby UHC, CHC, or government hospitals and sent to the nearest laboratory, it said.
Laboratories that want to be recommended for conducting COVID-19 tests have to meet set criteria, it said in the prayer to set up a lab in each district, adding that the government was taking steps to ensure laboratories approved by ICMR and NABL are notified for conducting COVID-19 tests.
The AMA had said some laboratories, despite getting ICMR-NABL approval, had not got a nod from the state government to conduct COVID-19 tests.
The state also said it was conducting antigen tests in all districts.
