The Delhi High Court’s vacation bench is hearing a plea by the mother of a Covid-19 patient, who says that her 18-year-old son has been “detained illegally” in hospital isolation since landing in Delhi on December 24.

The mother of the patient said, “We have been waiting for genome sequencing test report and RTPCR test and he’s languishing in the hospital. We shifted him from LNJP to Fortis on December 25 because the LNJP hospital was not good. He couldn’t even use the toilet there.”

The petitioner further claimed that her son was in isolation in a private hospital and was not being discharged to await the result of the genome sequencing test. She claimed that her son being a mild case of Covid-19, but the private hospital was not re-testing him.

Advocate Arun Panwar, counsel for the Delhi government, informed the high court that the patient was Omicron positive.

At this, Justice Anu Malhotra asked the Centre why genome sequencing test report was not supplied to the patient.

Advocate Bharati Raju, representing the Centre, said according to the December 29 report, the youth has tested positive for Omicron variant and the Delhi government was managing the whole scenario. According to the guidelines, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) provides the report to the state government which in turn has to inform the patient.

“There was ‘communication interruption’ because patient left LNJP against medical advice and got admitted to Fortis. Test report is sent by the Central Directorate of Health Services,” Pawar said.

The bench directed authorities to conduct RTPCR test of the patient and give him his genome sequencing test report. “Test result is not a confidential document,” the court stated.

Pawar informed the bench that the Delhi government does not have the genome testing report. Since the son of the petitioner had gone to Fortis, hospital the report may be available with them, he said.

The Delhi HC then issued a notice to Fortis hospital and the central government to submit the genome testing report on record before the court, and supply copy of the report to petitioner and Delhi government via email.

Delhi government’s counsel informed the court that if a person entering India from abroad tests positive for Omicron, strict isolation protocols must be followed till the negative RTPCR test report comes.

“Hospital isolation is ‘not illegal detention’, protocols say isolation must be done till negative report is there,” Pawar told the court.