COVID-19 and its non- stop virulence
Anil K.
Khaware
Advocate
As I
write this, the nightmare of about one year appears to be resurfacing again and
“Amrawati” and other cities in Maharashtra are facing lockdown or on the verge
of being put to lockdown again. The covid-19
i.e CorOna Virus DiSease -2019 appears to
have undergone mutation and its variant is revisiting. The danger of Covid has not abated completely. The
increasing cases of COVID variants, necessitated imposition of lockdown in
various cities in Maharashtra,
prohibition is again imposed on religious, social or political function and
only online conference can be held. The Covid patients increased in last
fortnights and mutant Covid appears to have resurfaced again. In Kerala and
Punjab also there are symptom of resurgence of Covid. The caution and preventive measures is
thus a sine qua non.
It is believed that Corona has made
its way from Wuhan (China).It is cosmopolitan in distribution and through mere
touch or through aerosols it is transmitted. Though, the Covid was now waning across the globe,
still, in its midst reports have come of its variants and reoccurrence of the
symptom again in some way. The “Corona” is a virus and is composed of
lipoprotein and thrives only upon entering their host with trace of RNA
(Ribonucleic acid) and then it makes its host its abode and makes the latter
hostage. The “Corona” makes its way to the lungs of human to circumvent the
respiratory tract and the host thereafter suffers the inevitable. The Corona,
when absorbed by the cells of the ocular,
nasal or buccal mucosa, changes
its genetic code and converts them into aggressor and multiplier cell. The
genesis of Corona from “Wuhan”- a city in People Republic of China and
traversed to Italy, Spain, France, Britain, USA, Belgium, Korea, Iran,
Australia, Africa amongst other countries. In fact the Corona has engulfed
entire Europe, besides, vast part of Asia, North America, South America,
Africa, Australia and New Zealand. India is also a worst sufferer. The Corona,
therefore, is declared as pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO and
mechanism of its complete obliteration is still to be in place, though vaccines
are invented.
The COVID-19 has tested the resolve
of human in very different way. The problem of COVID remained enduring and its
impact was resolute. The COVID has caused havoc leading to worldwide
catastrophe and the manner of its cosmopolitan spread is a matter of grave
concern. It is a matter of record that more than 130 Million peoples are
already infected globally and about a Million have died due to this. In India
at this stage, more than One (1) Crore of peoples are reported infected so far
with Corona, though, about 99% of such people have come out of the morass. The people inflicted with Covid
is still surfacing, though, which is cause of concern. On 12th
February 2020 the WHO has declared COVID-l9 as 'Pandemic.
It is no gain
saying that the epidemic or pandemic as old as the civilization itself. The
world has faced several of pandemics in centuries. For ready reference, some of
the pandemics are listed below:
|
S.N |
Pandemic |
Remark |
|
1. |
Justinian's Plague |
Goes back to 542 AD. The earliest epidemic killing Millions. The
outbreak first emerged in Constantinople as plague-ridden fleas thrived on
black rats that munched on the grains brought from Egypt. |
|
2. |
Great Bubonic Plague |
Erupted in Europe in 1347.About 200 Millions were killed in
about Four (4) years. The bacteria Yersinia pestis, which was also the
culprit behind Justinian’s plague had wiped out a large number of the
population and continued till 1351. |
|
3. |
The Great Plague of London |
In around 1665, London came under the grips of the pandemic
which lasted a year. In London 1/4th of its population was wiped
out |
|
4. |
Small Pox |
The outbreak was caused in Europe, Asia and Arabia. It was
caused by a virus and about 1/3rd of infected persons had lost
their lives |
|
5. |
Cholera |
Initially reported in England around 19th century
and had killed a huge population. It was caused due to the ingestion of food
or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera |
|
6. |
Spanish Flu |
Spread all over the world and named as Spanish flue. The flue
had killed Crores of population and even in India itself have damage was
inflicted due to this. |
REVAMPING OF LEGAL PROCESS
In the backdrop of the pandemic, it is
realized that not only therapy of disease but a legal framework to tackle the
issues arising out of it needed revamping. The “rumour monger” has emerged as
well as delinquents seeking dissemination of disease through their acts
unwittingly or knowingly.
In India in the
above context, we have the following law:
(i) The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (EDA)
(ii) THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT, 2005 (DMA)
(iii) Section
188 of Indian Penal Code
(iv) Sections
269 & 270 of Indian Penal Code
(v) Section
505 of Indian penal Code
It may be noted that India had no
proper law to address Pandemic till 2005,when Disaster Management act (DMA) was
enacted, which is the only comprehensive Act related to epidemic. The EDA 1897
has been a summary Act and is a colonial legacy. Ironically, the Act itself is
named as EDA and there has been no reference to pandemic in it. In fact, there
is no reference to pandemic in DMA either. Neither of the Acts therefore
offered detailed provisions in the face of what are ongoing, though, DMA appear
to be a comprehensive Act. The fact, that behavior of mankind has undergone sea
change over the years and meeting such delinquencies or criminal acts does not
find adequate reflection in the punishment column.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005
India has taken the
extreme measure of enforcing successive lockdowns and the 1st lockdown for 21
days was announced. It was probably the first time, the nation was under
complete lockdown under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act., 2005.
This is also the first time a central government had issued directions of this
magnitude to the states. The Disaster Management Act provides for a National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and section 6 of the legislation deals with
powers of the authority—from which the authority has issued these directions to
the state and central governments. Section 6(2)(i) of the Act authorises the
NDMA, headed by the Prime Minister, to take measures for “the prevention of disaster,
or the mitigation or preparedness and capacity building for dealing with the
threatening disaster situation or disaster as it may consider necessary”. The
Act also provisions for a national executive authority, which exercises powers
to issue guidelines that could be in effect during the lockdown.
|
The Disaster
Management Act also casts a duty on the states to follow the directions of the
NDMA as mandated under Section 38 of the Disaster Management Act. The section
51 of DMA encapsulates provision for imprisonment for Two (2) years for (i)
obstructing the public servant including those authorised by the authorities
under DMA and (ii) refusing to comply with any directions issued by the
officers/personnel under the DMA. The punishment is Two (2) years of
imprisonment, if convicted and if the refusal leads to loss of lives or any
imminent danger. Section 505 of Indian Penal Code together with Section 54 of
DMA could be invoked, for publication of or circulation of any rumour which
is likely to cause any fear or alarm. The punishment prescribed is one (1)
year under the DMA and Three (3) years under section 505 of The Indian Penal
Code. COMPLAINT UNDER
DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT 2005 The Central, State
or District Authority could file a complaint or by national or State
Government officials from Central or State Government. A court shall be thus
empowered to take cognizance on the complaint, if filed. It is relevant to
state that any person could be entitled to lodge a complaint, provided a
notice of at least Thirty (30) days is given by such person entailing the
intention to file the complaint for alleged offence. However, protective
shield is accorded to the public servant, in case the action was taken in
good faith. Similarly, under the EDA, no action or suit could be initiated
against the acts of government officials, if done in good faith. |
|
|
PROMULGAMATION OF ORDINANCE The ordinance was
promulgated by the Union Government and also by the other states with a view
to make the punishment more stringent as the existing Act had milder
provision of punishment. It was necessary in view of attacks on Doctors and
health care workers. The damages were to be payable by the offenders, in case
of loss to public properties. The provisioning of penalty was made up to Rs 5
Lakhs and punishment terms could go upto Seven (7) years. The Offences were
made non bailable and cognizable. |
|
THE GLOBAL WINDOW
Various countries has their own mechanism to
tackle the pandemic.For instance, in (i) United States: Under
the Public Health and Service Act, the US Department of Health and Human Services
has laid down specific guidelines to assist states during health emergencies
and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. In this context it will be apt
to draw parallel vis a vis law in United States. The Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) was
enacted in 1988 whereunder United States Federal law was designed to bring
an orderly and systematic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state
and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.
As a prelude to The Stafford Act, 1988 was in fact “Disaster Relief Act of 1974”. It created the system in place today by which
a presidential disaster declaration or an emergency declaration triggers financial
and physical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). The Congress amended it by passing the Disaster
Mitigation Act of
2000 in the year 2006 with the “Pets
Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, and again in 2018 with the
Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA). In
Australia, for instance, Section 51
of the Constitution provides the Federal government with legislative powers to
quarantine. An overarching law called the National Health Security Act and
Agreement has been put in place to abide by Australia’s obligations towards the
IHR. The Australian Government’s
2011 National Health Emergency Response Arrangements also highlights how
the government will respond to public health emergencies. Within
the European Union (EU), EU Decision
1082/13 is the key legal instrument for threats to health. They endorse
compliance with the IHR. Both the IHR and Decision required signatory states to
develop National Plans for Pandemic Preparedness. Many countries have plans in
place, which can include measures, such as rationing of resources, enforced
isolation or quarantine, or seizure of goods and property. The WHO and the EU also
encourage the use of legal frameworks to support those plans. In Spain, all private hospitals have been
nationalised in the wake of the pandemic. While such a drastic measures may not
have been taken in India ,but there should certainly be guidelines for public-private partnerships in the medical field.
The mutant Covid
The
mutant variant of covid-19 is
also being reported of late in Britain, South Africa and Brazil. The mutant which is
variants of Covid-19 is reported to be more lethal. Obviously, the mutant virus
has evolved from the parent virus. The genetic material in living organism is
DNA or RNA. The DNA is composed of nitrogenous based i.e Adenine (A), Thymine
(T), Guanine(G) and cytosine (C). In RNA, in place of Thymine Uracil (U) is
present. The genetic material also has pentose sugar i.e ribose sugar in RNA
and De-oxyribose sugar in DNA and phosphorus as components. The mutation occurs
at gene level and is generally referred as point mutation.
It is now clear that UK
variant carries the N501 Y mutation ,whereas Brazilian variant has E484K
mutation whereas South African variant has both. It is also believed that South
African and Brazilian variant are different from the UK variant as the former
has the capacity to easily enter the lungs. The Covid variant
B.1.351(SA), B.1.1.7(UK) and P.1(Brazil) have unique collection mutation which
make them spread more rapidly or cheat vaccine immunity.
VACCINATION
The
efforts were unveiled and India and vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of
India are "Covashield” and yet another vaccine was prepared in the name
and style of Covaxin. The WHO has listed the Emergency Use
Listing (EULs) for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2). On 15 February
2021, WHO issued EULs for two versions of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19
vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and SKBio. WHO is on
track to EUL other vaccine products in the meanwhile.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being manufactured locally by
the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. It is
producing more than 50 million doses a month. The vaccine, which is known as
Covishield, is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an
adenovirus) from chimpanzees.
The vaccines and its evaluated
response are as under:
MUTANT
VARIANTS that affected the impact of
vaccines
|
|
B.1.1.7
(UK) |
B.1.35
(SOUTH AFRICA) |
P.1
Brazil |
|
|
|
|
50%
more transmissible, 30% higher mortality |
Dominated
in SA. Shown reduced efficacy to 30% |
Has
E 484K mutation present in SA variant that can escape immunity |
|
|
|
VACCINE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ASTRAZZENECA
OXFORD VACCINE |
10%
lower efficacy |
50-60%
drop in efficacy |
Unknown |
||
|
MODERNA
VACCINE |
1.8x-2x drop in
neutralization in lab test |
6.4x
drop in neutralization in lab test |
11-3xdrop in
neutralization in lab test |
||
|
PFIZER
BIONTECH VACCINE |
1.25-3.85 x drop in
neutralization in lab test |
3.1
x drop in neutralization in lab test |
1.25-3.85 x drop in
neutralization in lab test |
||
The Government of India has already approved
two vaccines, subsequent to its approval by the Drug Control General of India
(DCGI) for restricted emergency uses Serum Institute of India and Bharat
Biotech have prepared the vaccines and have distributed the vaccines for the
use in first page. It is learnt that about 1.3 Crore people, mostly comprising
of health care peoples have been
administered with the first dosage of the vaccine. Now, the Central Government
has decided that in second phase commencing from March 1st 2021, the
people of 60 years and above and people of 45 years of age with serious co
morbidities shall be administered the vaccine and for this purpose an
application namely CoWin (Covin Vaccine Intelligence Work) is introduced.
The response to Pandemic by Delhi High
Court
Like every sector even the
justice delivery system is hit by pandemic. The extra-ordinary situation calls
for extra-ordinary measures, goes the adage and our high court had adopted
video conferencing system during the earlier part of lockdown itself so that
the door of justice is not foreclosed. The graded system of hearing ad hybrid
system was also in place gradually to mitigate the likely spread of Covid and
by adopting Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and at the same time
ensuring urgent case hearing. The SOP is still in place in as Much as wearing masks, provisioning of immediate sanitization,
transparent curtain in court rooms, adherence to social distancing leading to decongestion
in court rooms are measures being followed scrupulously. What is also
noteworthy is that the periodic directions issued by the hon’ble High court to
the district courts and decision to provide for the infrastructure for virtual
hearing has ensured hearings of cases so that in the court of first instance legal
recourse are not compromised. These measures has gone a long way towards
justice dispensation system. Even periodic testing for Covid was held in high
court premises. To achieve efficacy in the system, despite challenging
circumstances, the bench and bar deserve kudos for inter se co-ordination to achieve the goal.
References:
·
letters@hindustantimes.com
(Rhythma kaul)
·
Stafford Act Declarations 1953-2014: Trends, Analyses,
and Implications for Congress https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700766/m1/1/high_res_d/R42702_2015Jul14.pdf
·
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics
·
The
Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (EDA)
·
THE
DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT, 2005 (DMA)
·
Code
of Criminal Procedure
·
Indian
Penal Code
