Treated, discharged but missing in Covid tally?

Noida: You may call it the curious case of cross-notified patients who are often unaccounted for. Yes, several Covid-19 patients are being cross-notified across districts in UP to be added to the count of other places. But, while these cases are informed about, they are not easily added by the other districts. These patients are treated and discharged, but are often not accounted for. TOI has learnt about 27 such recent cases in Noida itself.
On Monday, there were 26 cross-notified cases in Noida. Another 13 were added on Tuesday, but the total count still stood at 26. This is because, health officials said, when the cases are accepted by other districts, the total tally reduces here. So by Tuesday, there were a total 39 cross-notified patients, of which 12 were added by other districts to their count, taking the total figure down to 27.
“Since Covid cases started coming, over 100 such patients have been cross-notified. However, these are not easily accepted by other districts. Noida has more such cases than other neighbouring districts since it is an urban centre that has many short-term residents. There have been several such cases of people from Bulandshahar, Meerut and other districts who were getting treated at private hospitals in Noida and tested positive here, or industrial workers who would go back home daily or weekly,” a health official said. In fact, among 27 patients who have been cross-notified to other districts by health officials of Gautam Budh Nagar, two people are from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, who have been in list for nearly a month now and reported in the district’s daily record since May 16. The remaining are from Delhi or western UP districts.
Senior government officials said that cross notification is being done by different districts as per the guidelines circulated in the first week of May soon after inter-state movement of migrants began. “We try to assess the incubation period soon after an individual tests positive. If the person has a travel history, the district concerned has to be informed for further contact tracing. That is how you see patients from other states on the list,” said joint director of health department Vikasendu Agarwal, who is also the state surveillance officer.
Confusion, however, prevails among residents of Gautam Budh Nagar district, who have been keenly following Covid-19 numbers for the past few weeks. “Notifying districts in NCR and those close to Noida is understandable. But how are people from other states catching the infection,,” said Prashant Yadav, a resident of Supertech Capetown in Sector 74.