Telangana HC orders govt. to hold COVID-19 tests on dead bodies

Telangana High Court on Thursday ordered the state government to conduct COVID-19 tests on dead bodies. The court was dealing with the petition filed by Chikkuda Prabhakar who told the court the state would enter the third stage if the tests were not held. He also informed the court that if tests are not conducted on a large-scale, the virus cannot be detected.

The petitioner said that the doctors in Nellore and Kurnool were tested positive after their death. He also said that the WHO and ICMR guidelines did not mention not to collect samples from dead bodies for the tests.

The court also asked the government to follow the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It also asked to submit a detailed report on the guidelines being followed by the central government by May 26 and adjourned the case.

It may be recalled the Telangana government had earlier issued the orders not to conduct COVID-19 tests on dead bodies.