Hyderabad, May 14: The Telangana High Court on Friday issued interim orders staying a governments memo restricting ambulances carrying COVID-19 patients without confirmed beds, at the state borders.

Hearing a Lunch Motion PIL seeking a direction to the government not to stop the ambulances at the borders, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy issued notices to the State government to respond in two weeks. Kerala Records 34,694 New COVID-19 Cases, 93 Death in Past 24 Hours.

On May 11, Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued the memo that COVID-19 patients from other States coming to the city should have prior tie-up with hospitals for bed and they need approval from a control room so that police at the borders allow such ambulances. The court said no authorisation from the control room would be required for the patients or their attendants to travel into Telangana State seeking hospitalisation.

The State police have turned back COVID-19 patients coming in ambulances at borders saying those patients do not have confirmed bed facility in any hospital. State Director Public Health G Srinivasa Rao, in a press conference on Friday, said the government has no intention of sending away patients from other States, but was only concerned as the patients without beds were prone to life- risk.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)