TIRUCHY: A major lapse took place in Tiruchy when a patient who tested negative was admitted to the hospital for COVID-19. In a mix-up by the authorities, 27-year-old Darshan (name changed) who shares his name with a patient who tested positive, was admitted to the isolation ward at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH).
The positive patient is now untraceable according to authorities. The two men had returned from Riyadh and were placed in institutional quarantine at a hotel on Sunday with their samples being collected.
On Tuesday, the man, who had tested negative, was picked up by authorities and admitted to the isolation ward at MGMGH. Sources said that that the other person, aged 39, who tested positive has escaped from the quarantine.
"At the quarantine centre, everyone was tested. Only people who tested positive were given their reports. The officials came to the hotel and asked for Darshan. When he said that he tested negative, they didn’t listen. They took him to the hospital. The other Darshan is missing from the hotel, because probably he might have received SMS to his number," said a relative of the patient.
While the patient admitted to the hospital is from Thanjavur, the one who tested positive is from Nagapattinam. Other than their names, there is nothing in common between the two. It's deeply shocking that such a big mistake could take place on the part of the health department in Tiruchy.
MGMGH dean Dr K Vanitha confirmed to TNIE that the wrong patient had been admitted to the hospital. "He has been admitted to a separate isolation ward and is not mixed up with other positive patients. We have taken his sample again today to be sure that he’s negative. We will discharge him if it’s negative. We have also informed the authorities about the missing positive patient," she said.
Sources in the hospital said that the patient was told that he could leave, but he was scared. They also questioned why he came to the hospital if he was negative, he should have spoken up.