3000 plus Doctors attending NEOCON 2021: Doctors conference under HC scanner

NEOCON-2021 is expected to host more than 3,000 delegates (medical professionals) across India and the neighboring countries.

Seeking clarifications regarding COVID-19 SOP, the division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum observed, "The additional government advocate may seek instructions as to whether any permission has been sought by organisers to convene the conference and whether any measures have been taken by the state government to ensure the adherence of SOP for Covid-19."

A doctor had filed a plea regarding the upcoming conference and the petition prays for directions to the respondents to not allow National Neonatology Forum to organize the conference in physical mode.

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As per the latest media report by Live Law, the counsel for the petitioner, advocate Shridhar Prabhu pointed out that the conference titled NEOCON-2021, which is set to be held from December 16 to December 19, 2021 at the Golden Amoon Resort, Hoskote, Bengaluru, and more than 3,000 medical professionals are expected to be present at the event.

"The doctors from all over the country as well as from neighbouring countries have been invited to this conference. In the current scenario of Omicron variant threat of Covid-19, this conference can become a super spreader event and in case any doctor in this conference is found covid-19 positive then entire gathering will have to be quarantined which will also include paediatricians. It would adversely affect the existing medical facilities in the hospitals in the state and these doctors would not be available to attend their patients," contended the advocate.

Further, the counsel referred to the advisory issued by Karnataka Government on November 28, where the Government had postponed social, cultural and academic events in all educational institutions.

So, such large gatherings against the public interest, should not be permitted by the State.

Issuing notice to the State, the HC bench has asked for a response within December 17.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently, an international doctor's conference held at a star hotel in Bengaluru had come under the scanner after a 46-year-old Karnataka-based anaesthetist who had no foreign travel history was found positive with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, one of the first two cases of the new strain reported from India in Bengaluru.

After this, many members of the medical community had expressed their concerns over the coming conferences in the city. A few neonatologists in Bengaluru had asked the BBMP not to allow the organizing of the National Neonatology Forum Neocon 2021 to be held from December 16-19.