Summary:
The Supreme Court on Saturday set up a 12-member National Task Force to facilitate a public health response to the pandemic based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the second wave. A Supreme Court bench headed by Justices DY Chandrachud and M R Shah said that the rationale for constituting a task force at the national level is also to formulate a methodology for the scientific allocation of oxygen to states and union territories. The bench said the Union Cabinet Secretary will be the convenor of the task force and may nominate an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary to depute for him when necessary. The top court said in its order passed on May 6 uploaded on Saturday that the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be ex-officio member of the task force. The bench said that Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin Senior Professor and Head of Department of Hepatology Director Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS) Delhi and Dr Zarir F Udwadia Consultant Chest Physician Hinduja Hospital Breach Candy Hospital and Parsee General Hospital Mumbai are the members of the task force..