Karnataka and Kerala have agreed to movement of patients, Centre tells SC

The Centre, on Tuesday, told the Supreme Court that an issue arising out of blockade of the national highway between Kerala and Karnataka stood resolved with both the states agreeing to movement of patients for medical treatment at the inter-state border at Talapadi.

"The two states have agreed to a protocol for facilitating free movement of patients," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted before a bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde.

He said a joint video conferencing was held with the concerned authorities of both the states.

With this, the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Deepak Gupta, closed the matter arising out of a petition filed by Karnataka and others questioning validity of the Kerala HC's interim order of April 1 to remove the blockade.

The Karnataka government had passed the order on March 31 under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, banning all movement of people and goods, including patients in order to prevent any further transmission of COVID-19.

Kasargod has emerged as the hotspot with over 100 COVID-19 patients, triggering the Karnataka government to take such a decision to close the border linking the district in Kerala to Mangaluru.

It had feared "disastrous consequences" and result in "serious outbreak" of COVID-19.

Kerala, on the other hand, claimed the move had resulted into death of several persons, besides affecting supply of essential goods, resulting into "humanitarian crisis".