‘Inexplicable’: Man positive after 23 days

PATIALA: A 38-year-old man from in Patiala district tested Covid-19 positive 23 days after returning from another state. Health officials said he was asymptomatic so far.
The infected person, a combine worker, returned to his native Lanja village with his cousin from Uttar Pradesh on May 5. Health authorities placed them under 14-day home quarantine, during which both were asymptomatic.
Officials decided to take their samples for testing on May 28, following which one was declared positive on Friday. This has left authorities perplexed. Patiala civil surgeon Dr Harish Malhotra said, “There are a number of scientists working on the virus at the world level. I am too small to comment on it. Samples of family members of the patient were taken for testing. Recently, one of our health care workers tested positive, but samples of all her 26 family members and contacts, including her husband and children, turned out to be negative. Five ASHA workers who were her colleagues also tested negative. Some things are inexplicable.”
Nirmal Singh, 42, cousin of patient, suspected foul play. “We see some conspiracy behind this or the failure of kits being used by the government for testing,” he said.
Dr Sumit, an epidemiologist in Patiala, said samples of the two cousins were taken a few days after they completed their home quarantine period. “The sampling procedure takes four-five hours per person. A large number of our health staff is working hard to trace contacts of all those who contracted the infection. We are collecting over 300 samples daily on an average. The incubation period can vary from person to person,” he said.