New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday, April 20, said that economic interests can not override human lives and suggested some reduction in steel and petroleum production to divert oxygen to COVID-19 patients. It also called for the application of the mind in allocating resources to tackle the health crisis, noting that “people will have blood on their hands” otherwise.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said if the lockdown continues then everything would come to a halt and therefore, there would be a diminished need for steel, petrol and diesel in such a situation.
“During the lockdown, what would be the development,” the court said and asked the Centre why it was waiting till April 22 to ban industrial use of oxygen.
“Shortage is now. You have to do it (ban) now. Look into taking some oxygen from the steel and petroleum industries. They have big pockets and big lobbies but tell them if they have to cut production, then they can cut production. Lives have to be saved,” the bench said.
The court cited the example of a central government counsel whose father was admitted to hospital and was on oxygen support, but due to its scarcity, oxygen was being provided at a reduced pressure to him to conserve it.
“Can you ask him to hold on till April 22?” the court asked. It said if nothing was done, then “we are heading for a bigger disaster”.
“We might end up losing nearly a crore of people. Are we willing to accept that?” the bench asked. It also suggested increasing the COVID beds in hospitals that have their own oxygen generating capacity.
‘No gap in oxygen supply,’ says Centre
The observations by the bench came after it considered the Centre’s affidavit in which the latter said there was “no gap in oxygen supply to Delhi” and that industrial use of oxygen was banned with effect from April 22.
The Union health ministry, represented by Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, told the high court that there has been an inordinate increase of 133% in the projected medical oxygen required, as of April 20, between the initial estimate of 300 metric tonnes and the revised estimate of 700 metric tonnes submitted by Delhi.
The ministry said all the states, including Delhi, have to rationalise the use of oxygen and prohibit abnormal usage and administering oxygen to the patients who do not clinically require the same.
“States have to undertake oxygen consumption monitoring in hospitals including private hospitals and to undertake facility-wise/hospital-wise oxygen inventory mapping and advance planning for timely replenishment so that supply can be efficiently managed,” it said.
It said that states of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have come out with simple guidelines to efficiently manage the use of oxygen in view of its scarcity.
The Centre also informed the high court that it has provided Delhi government hospitals with around 1,390 ventilators.
Earlier in the day, the court had asked the Centre whether oxygen supplied to industries can be diverted for COVID-19 patients.
“Industries can wait. Patients cannot. Human lives are at stake,” the bench said.
It said it has heard that doctors at Ganga Ram Hospital were being forced to reduce oxygen being given to COVID-19 patients admitted there as there was a scarcity of oxygen.
The ministry, in the affidavit filed through the Centre’s standing counsel Monika Arora, claimed that in order to increase the capacity of medical oxygen in Delhi, eight Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen Generation plants are being installed with money from the PM CARES Fund.
“These plants would enhance the capacity of medical oxygen by 14.4 metric tonnes,” the ministry’s affidavit said.
Medic collects swab samples for COVID-19 tests, amid the rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, in New Delhi, Monday, April 19, 2021. Photo: PTI
Vaccine wastage
The court also expressed displeasure over the “huge wastage” of vaccines and asked the Centre to vaccinate whomsoever it can to ensure there is no wastage.
The bench said that according to news reports there is a daily wastage of 6% of vaccines and till now 44 lakh vaccines out of 10 crores have been wasted, the maximum in Tamil Nadu.
“This is a huge wastage. Give it to those who want it. Whomsoever you can vaccinate, please vaccinate. Whether 16 years old or 60 years old, all need vaccination. The pandemic does not discriminate,” the court told the Centre.
The court said young people are being affected more this time around, and a lot of young lives have been lost.
“It said if at the end of a day, a few shots are available in a vial, then it be given to someone whether they fall in the approved categories for vaccination or not,” the court said.
Remdesivir
The court also said that it hoped that the Centre was allocating or diverting resources and medicines, like Remdesivir, based on the needs and situation of each state, otherwise “people will have blood on their hands”.
“We will be doomed,” the bench said with regard to any non-application of mind in allocation and diversion of resources and medicines.
While ASG Sharma and Centre’s counsel Arora told the court that medical opinion was divided on the use of Remdesivir, senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi government, told the court that doctors were prescribing Remdesivir and people are unable to get it from the market despite having prescriptions.
“Long and short of it is that it (Remdesivir) is in short supply,” the bench said and added that giving clearance for setting up units to manufacture would not yield quick results as establishing the facilities for manufacture takes time.
The observations by the bench came during the hearing of a disposed petition related to COVID-19 tests. The high court revived it on April 19 by noting that the virus has raised its “ugly head” once again and the pandemic is raging with much greater intensity and “it is evident that the healthcare infrastructure is at the stage of imminent collapse”.
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