Tasaduq Hussain
Srinagar, May 23: The authorities in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district have mistakenly discharged at least three Covid-19 patients to home and hours after their stay were called back after declaring them positive. This all has happened in the past four days.
Official source told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that two patients earlier provided negative Covid-19 certificate one among them who spent a whole night with family members in Baramulla and the other was called back after 7 hours of home stay from Langate.
“In a fresh incident a man who was in isolation hospital at Sopore was declared positive a night after he was dropped home by the authorities after giving him negative discharge certificate.”
The officials said that in Baramulla alone three Covid-19 patients were mistakenly sent home and after spending time with family members were called back as they were found to be positive.
In afresh case that surfaced from Sopore on Saturday a patient who appeared in a video claimed to have tested positive for Covid-19 on May 4 since then underwent mandatory isolation period during which a test was conducted which proved negative on 18th.
“The next afternoon he was discharged in presence of officials from district administration and health officials along with the negative discharge certificate.”
He claimed that he was dropped home but the next morning he was informed that you are still positive and you will have to undergo isolation again. “This is sheer negligence on part of the medical authorities. How can they allow this to happen?”
When contacted, Dr. Rudhiana Maqbool, who is COVID-19 in charge in Sopore told KNO that she has no information about it and has learnt the same from some other source.
Earlier two persons who were under administrative quarantine at Saint Joseph school Baramulla were allowed to go home on 19th may who after spending time with family members, relatives and neighbours were called back for isolation after they were found to be positive.
Chief medical officer, Baramulla, Dr. Deeba Qazi, said that an advisory issued recently says that patient should be allowed to go for home quarantine after completion of 14 days at administrative isolation but tests are not supposed to be conducted.
“The tests should not have been conducted, now that our team has done it they have been found positive again. Still I will look into the matter,” she said.
Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Dr GN Itoo was unavailable for his comments on the issue.