Two persons who had been declared Covid free last week and released from quarantine have had to be traced and brought back after their test results, inexplicably sent again on Monday, revealed them to be carriers of the coronavirus.
Bokaro district authorities are now in a tizzy with state health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni asking the Bokaro civil surgeon, Dr A. K. Pathak, to coordinate with the laboratory at PMCH-Dhanbad to find out which report was authentic.
Sources in the health department revealed they were wondering whether this was a mere lapse in paperwork on the part of the laboratory or if indeed the swab samples of the two were tested twice. If so, why?
It also throws open the question if the family members of the two would now need to be put under quarantine since they too must have been exposed to the virus if the duo are Covid-positive.
The two, in their 40s, are residents of Nawadih. They had returned from Mumbai, a red zone, on May 16. The Bokaro district administration put them under quarantine and sent their swab samples for test to PMCH on May 17.
Reports came in on May 22 declaring the two Covid-free.
On Monday, however, when the Bokaro health department received test reports of 142 people, officials found that two persons had tested positive.
Looking through prior reports, they found the two were the same persons who had been declared Covid negative.
“Fluctuating test results seems to be a human error on the part of PMCH. This has put us under a lot of stress. But the matter will be resolved soon,” said civil surgeon Pathak.
He added that when he spoke to staff at PMCH laboratory, they said the report sent on Monday was the “confirmed report” but avoided talking about the earlier report.
“However, to ascertain the real status we are going to conduct Covid-19 tests on the duo again. Once the report of the fresh tests are in, we will decide whether to shift them to the Covid ward of Bokaro General Hospital,’ Pathak said.
Health secretary Kulkarni is understood to have taken the issue seriously. He has asked the laboratory in Dhanbad to come out with an immediate explanation, source said.