KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order to the government not to implement a provision of the National Testing Guidelines for COVID-19.

A Joint bench of Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Tanka Bahadur Moktan directed that the Ministry of Health and Population not implement point 6 of the guideline that states that no tests are required for asymptomatic cases that have completed 14 days in isolation.

The SC stated that patients in isolation should be sent home only after undergoing a PCR test to confirm that they have recovered from the disease.

“Looking at the number of patients in isolation and the government’s testing capacity, it does not seem impossible to re-examine them,” the apex court said in the order, “There is no need to support the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Population that patients in isolation can be sent home without examination after a certain period of time.”

The court has stated that it is the responsibility of the state to protect the health and right of the people to live with dignity and the guideline to send people in home sans test is unconstitutional.

The apex court issued the order in public interest litigation filed by advocate Santosh Bhattarai.