Many Covid positive people have been collecting their reports themselves from hospitals or diagnostic clinics because they want to be absolutely sure about the result, officials of several healthcare facilities have said.

They want to meet a doctor, too, with a copy of the report, the officials have said.

If a person who has tested positive for Covid-19 maintained hand hygiene and wore a proper mask then chances of spread, even if he/she were to be in a congested area, gets reduced, according to experts in public health. He/she should ideally stay in isolation, though, to minimise the chances of spread.

Most of the people who have collected their reports themselves have told officials they wanted to be absolutely sure they had tested positive for Covid-19 and that they wanted to meet a doctor with a hard copy of the report. There are some who have said they travelled to healthcare units to collect their reports for want of communication from hospital or government officials.

Many patients go into a state of denial after hearing they have tested positive for Covid-19 and want to see their reports to ensure it is true, doctors have said.

Initially, when Covid-19 cases were few, a patient could get tested only after getting admitted to hospital. Once the number of cases started rising and testing facilities were scaled up, the state government allowed tests to be done at OPDs and pathological laboratories.

A Burrabazar resident who works for a leather goods manufacturing unit in Calcutta recently had mild fever. He visited a private hospital off the Bypass where his swab sample was collected.

“The hospital had not told me that I cannot go there to collect the report. So, I went to collect it and got to know that I have tested positive,” the man who is now in home isolation said. He had changed buses to reach the hospital, he said. “After I got to know I had tested positive, I took a taxi home. Later, health officials called and asked me to stay at home as I had no symptoms.”

Officials of several hospitals spoke about the problem of Covid patients or their immediate contacts visiting hospitals to collect their reports.

“We have 20-25 patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 visiting the hospital OPD every day to collect their reports,” Sudipta Mitra, chief executive of Peerless Hospital, said. “When a person comes for a test, we tell him/her not to visit the hospital to collect the report. Patients are alerted on the phone and reports are mailed to them. But most people who come to collect their reports say they want the hard copy of the report to show to a doctor.”

Most of them say they use public transport like bus, taxi or app cab to reach the hospital, Mitra said.

At Charnock Hospital in Rajarhat, officials said 10 Covid positive people visit the hospital daily to collect their reports.

Patients are told on the phone and reports are WhatsApped to them. But most patients or their immediate family members say they don’t have a printer at home and hence can’t print copies of the report to show to a doctor. A few are not satisfied with reports on WhatsApp and the promise of a call from the health department.

A policeman stops a motorist on Strand Road on Monday Gautam Bose

He makes the motorist wear a face mask Gautam Bose

A health department official said a government Covid tracking cell alerts the patient about his/her positive result.

“In many cases, only one phone number is given, which is unavailable, possibly because of network problems. So, we alert the local authorities based on the address provided by a patient,” the official said.

There is another violation of distancing rules, which is fast becoming common in many facilities.

“In many cases, immediate family members of a person who died of Covid-19 visited the hospital to claim the body for cremation. Last week, on one such occasion, we had to call police to control the situation,” Ipsita Kundu, CEO of Charnock Hospital, said.

A hospital hands over the body of a Covid-19 patient to the local municipal authorities for cremation.

“Initially, there was the fear of getting infected from bodies. Now, it seems that is gone and people are reaching hospitals to collect bodies of their relatives or to have a last glimpse,” Kundu said.

After the rain

Commuters on waterlogged Bidhan Sarani on Monday afternoon. Sanat Kr Sinha

A 150km-long cloud mass triggered heavy train in the city late on Sunday, flooding several roads in north Calcutta. At least one tree was uprooted on Kailash Bose Street.

The Met office recorded over 60mm of rain in Alipore. New Market, Shyambazar and Dhapa saw over 80mm of rain.

Sukia Street, Amherst Street, Muktaram Babu Street and Thanthania had ankle to knee-deep water. A man inside a confectionery on Sukia Street was seen clearing the flooded shop with a bucket.

“Coastal Bengal, including Calcutta, is expected to see more rain in the coming days,” a Met official said. But he ruled out a downpour, citing the absence of a strong system in the Bay.