THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: By the time Edward (name changed) was informed about the mistake, it was too late. He was already exposed to COVID-19 through a roomful of patients he was being kept with.
“I initially tested negative for COVID, but due to the laxity of a few officers, I was put in a First-Line Treatment Centre. I sincerely hope no one else goes through something like this,” he said.
Edward, a government employee, wanted a Covidpositive certificate to withdraw money from the Prime Minister’s National Pension System (NPS).
“I contacted them about the certificate, and to my shock, I was told about the mix-up. At first, they hesitated, but due to my constant efforts, I was redirected to the war room, where the staff asked me why I was in a COVID-19 ward because my result was apparently negative. This was after I spent five days in the centre with 50 other COVID-19 patients. My second test turned positive,” lamented Edward.
He filed a complaint with the District Medical Officer (DMO). With nearly 3000 COVID-19 patients in the state capital, it has become a herculean task for the authorities to keep track.
“We were told my uncle was COVID-19 positive on July 6th. We all live in the same compound and were declared primary contacts. I live with my wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, grandfather and a two-year-old kid. We got tested at Fort Hospital Trivandrum on July 9 and on July 15, they moved me, my grandfather and my brother-in-law to the CFLTC in Parassala, which is on the outskirts of the city,” said Edward, who works at a college.
“I conducted the University exam. Around 1000 people, including students, teachers and non-teaching staff had to go on quarantine after I was declared COVID-19 positive, in case they had contracted the virus through me. This is a shame for the entire department, caused by the negligence of a few people,” added Edward, who got released after the treatment.
“I have been advised to stay in strict quarantine at home for seven days, and the authorities even asked us to pay for our ride back from the centre,” he said.
There are many who went through similar plight because of manual error in the process of handling details of COVID-19 patients. Ramesh (name changed), (49), a petrol station employee, was also wrongly admitted in a COVID-19 ward because of confusion regarding his name.
“He has depression. They kept him in the COVID-19 ward for several days. Fortunately, he tested negative afterwards and is now in-home quarantine,” said Ramesh’s wife.
“He had a fever and we took him to Peroorkada hospital. After three days he was referred to the General Hospital. They asked him to stay in a quarantine centre at Vellayambalam till the results came. After a couple of days, the ambulance driver transported him to the COVID-19 care centreat Peroorkada by mistake. Later, a second test was done and fortunately, his result came out negative,” says Ramesh’s wife.
“Later, I got a call from the District Medical Office. They admitted their mistake and apologised to us, and requested us not to register any complaint,” she said. A senior official at the district administration admitted that they have taken note of this issue.
“One such case came up recently and we have taken it up seriously. We have ramped up testing and manual errors happen during manual entry. We will resolve the issue soon,” said the official.
A vast ordeal
Edward and his family got tested at Fort Hospital on July 9. On July 15, he was moved to the COVID centre in Parassala.
He conducted the university exam. Hence, around 1,000 people including students, teachers, parents and non-teaching staff had to quarantine themselves after Edward was declared COVID positive