Delhi HC: No Doctor prescription needed for COVID test, Aadhaar card & ICMR form mandatory

The Delhi High Court said on Tuesday that people can go in for voluntary RT-PCR test at any ICMR approved COVID testing facility without a Doctor's prescription. People only need to carry their Aadhaar Card for the address proof and fill the ICMR prescribed form in order to get tested. Following the sudden spike in the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital, the Delhi High Court expressed concern while passing the order. 

Delhi HC allows voluntary COVID testing

Earlier, a doctor's prescription was mandatory to get tested for COVID-19. On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Kohli and Prasad allowed COVID testing on the basis of Aadhaar card for address proof. The private labs in Delhi can now run up to 2000 COVID-19 tests per day for people who wish to get it done voluntarily. Now people can simply book a test at an ICMR approved COVID testing facility without obtaining a prescription from a doctor. But they will still need to fill an ICMR manded form and attach their Aadhar card to provide proof that they reside in the national capital. 

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After examining the spike in COVID-19 cases from August 31 till now and looking at the alarming figures, the Delhi High Court decided to allow voluntary COVID testing without doctor's prescription or symptoms in an attempt to amp up the testing in the national capital. While the Delhi government needed another week to make a decision the High Court permitted voluntary testing as there was no cause for delay. The Delhi High Court has also instructed the private COVID testing facilities and labs to prioritise the samples sent by the Delhi government, including any additional samples being sent by them, before they focus on providing the test results of a person who gets tested on his own accord. 

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According to media reports, the counsel appearing on behalf of Delhi government also informed the High Court that COVID testing camps have been set up at the Inter-State Bus Terminals of Anand Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan and Kashmiri Gate as well as at the Nizamuddin and New Delhi railway station as per the last order. The government has also set up 2 mobile COVID testing vans in each district of the national capital but the bench instructed them to ramp it up from 2 to 4. The court also directed the state to set up testing camps or facilities at metro terminals if possible while asking the DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) to advertise about the testing camps nearby. The Delhi High Court also directed the state government to submit the report of the third serosurvey, which began on September 1 and concluded on September 7, before the next hearing which is scheduled for September 16. 

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COVID-19 in Delhi

As on August 31, Delhi saw 1,358 coronavirus cases but the number went up to 2077 by September 7. The national capital has a total of 1,93,526 confirmed COVID-19 cases out of which 20,543 are currently active. A total of 1,68,384 people have recovered and the coronavirus death toll in Delhi is at 4,599.

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(With inputs from PTI)