India’s top court slams states for COVID surge

India’s Supreme Court has excoriated regional governments, including Delhi’s, over the surge in COVID-19 cases and warned the situation could worsen further if authorities did not effectively deal with the pandemic. The court, which took up the issue on its own, is seeking status reports from New Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Assam, which have recorded a spike in cases, about the management of patients and steps taken to ease the situation. “We are hearing of a huge spike in the current month. We want a latest status report from all states. Worse things may happen in December if states aren’t well prepared,” the three-judge bench said, according to broadcaster NDTV. The judges were particularly concerned about Delhi, which has been topping India in the number of infections and deaths. “What extra efforts are you taking? … Delhi has to answer a lot of things,” the judges told Delhi government lawyers in court.