Maha returnees allege false positive results, forcible isolation

Mangaluru: A group of youths, who returned from Maharashtra to their native place Renjala, a remote village at Karkala in Udupi district, have alleged that they were forcibly admitted to an isolation hospital almost 25 days after their return, even though they tested negative for Covid-19.
“We had finished 14 days of institutional quarantine and 10 days of home quarantine. The swab tests were negative. However, Asha workers knocked on our doors, informing us that we had tested positive. After two to three days of hospitalisation, we were discharged and sent back home. During the stay at hospital, we were not given any medicine,” the youths told TOI.
They said their first sample reports were negative but without testing the second time, they were informed that they were infected with coronavirus. “A single sample cannot be tested multiple times. Yet the Udupi district administration declared our first sample as both negative and positive in a gap of a few days,” the youths alleged and questioned whether Udupi district administration is are forcibly isolating people without reason.
In a similar incident, a Udupi resident said that he had returned home after finishing 14 days of institutional quarantine but 10 days later Asha workers came and informed him that he had tested positive for Covid-19. The person is now admitted at an isolation hospital in Udyavara.
A few others complained that quarantine stickers were put on their houses unnecessarily.
Former minister Pramod Madhwaraj said that he too came across posts about forceful isolation in the social media. “Negative people testing positive and vice versa in short spans could be an issue with the sample testing centre. The district administration should give clear reports and not mislead,” he said.
Baseless allegation: DC
When TOI contacted Udupi deputy commissioner G Jagadeesha, he said all the allegations are baseless and far from truth. “The district administration has never isolated anyone without testing positive for Covid-19. All 946 cases so far are admitted after the reports showed them positive. About 95% cases were asymptomatic. We will file cases against those who are spreading rumours and fake allegations,” he said.