You can put your head in sand like an ostrich, we won’t: HC

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to show cause as to why contempt not be initiated against it for failing to comply with order on supply of oxygen to Delhi for treating Covid19 patients ldquoYou can put your head in sand like an ostrich we will notrdquo the high court said ldquoAre you living in ivory towersrdquoA bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli also rejected the Centrersquos submission that Delhi was not entitled to 700 metric tonnes MT of medical oxygen in light of existing medical infrastructureA man prays as the pyre of his kin burns in Delhi on Tuesday PicAFPldquoWe see grim reality everyday of people not able to secure oxygen or ICU beds in hospitalsrdquo which have reduced beds due to gas shortage it said ldquoSupreme Courtrsquos April 30 order shows it directed Centre to provide 700 MT of oxygen and not just 490 MTrdquo HC said ldquoPlease donrsquot tell us that itrsquos a SC order so yoursquoll show a report to themrdquo Live Law quoted the bench as sayingAAP MLA Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said 41 hospitals with 7142 people on oxygen support sent SOS calls to the Delhi government on May 3 He said the city got 433 MT of oxygen just 44 per cent of the total requirement on MondaySituation is grim in Karnataka as well with hospitals in Bengaluru and other areas are openly raising concern over the gap in oxygen supply According to sources some hospital managements in Kalaburagi and Belagavi are reportedly asking patients to bring oxygen cylinders with them However Kalaburagi district incharge minister Murugesh Nirani ruled out any shortageIndia recorded 357229 new cases and 3449 new fatalities according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday morning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the only way to stop the spread of coronavirus now was a full lockdown with the protection of minimum income guarantee scheme NYAY for the vulnerable sectionsNew Coronavirus variant 15 times more infectious found in Andhra Pradesh reportsA new variant of SARSCoV2 which causes Covid19 has emerged in parts of Andhra Pradesh and is suspected to be 15 times more infectious than the previous ones reported The Hindu The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology CCMB has discovered the new variant mdash N440K which is being referred to as AP strain ldquoWe have observed that the new variant has shorter incubation period and the progress of the disease is much rapid In the earlier cases a Covid19 patient would take at least a week to reach the hypoxia or dyspnea stage But in the present context patients are reaching the serious condition stage within three or four days And that is why there is heavy pressure on beds with oxygen or ICU bedsrdquo The Hindu quoted District Covid19 Special Officer and Principal of Andhra Medical College P V Sudhakar as saying According to a report in the New Indian Express report N440K variant was found in 2030 per cent of samples collected from Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Maharashtra Tamil Nadu and Telangana ldquoIn the next few weeks it is likely to fade awayrdquo the NIE quoted CCMB Advisor Rakesh Mishra as sayingVirus spreading to rural Punjab UPPunjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Tuesday said the virus has started to spread to the rural areas because of which the positivity rate and the number of deaths are increasing in the state In Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the state governmentrsquos ldquolierdquo that there is no Covid19 spread in villages is proving to be ldquovery deadlyrdquo He claimed that there is a scarcity of fever medicines in villages let alone oxygen and hospital bedsPIL to halt Central Vista HC says will study SC orderA PIL in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought direction for the Centre to halt construction activity at the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project during the prevailing pandemic The PIL was opposed by the Centre but the HC said it wants to first go through what the SC has deliberated in its order permitting the projectWith this observation the court adjourned the matter and posted the next hearing on May 1720282833Total no of coronavirus cases in India so far222408Total no of deaths due to the virus in India so far16613292Total no of patients Recovered and discharged in India so far158932921Total no of people vaccinated so farThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever