Kerala: No symptoms or links for seven councillors who tested Covid-19 positive, samples sent to NIV for confirmation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the positive testing of seven councillors in city corporation, including two heads of standing committees has raised concerns, their swabs have been taken and sent to NIV Alappuzha for confirmation. None of the seven councillors have so far shown any symptoms and it is learnt that there has been delay in getting the results.
Although the councillors were tested on July 18, the results were communicated to them from district collectorate four-five days later. The councillors who have not been in direct contact with any positive patients had assumed that they would be negative and had gone around with their official responsibilities.
The health department has been repeatedly criticized for the way communication of test results is done and it seems that no official bothered to ensure that the councillors who were tested for Covid-19 remained under isolation until results came. Till date, noone among the primary contacts or immediate family members who are high risk contacts have been tested positive. Even the samples of high risk contacts of councillors were taken only on Friday although the councillors were tested positive a day or two earlier. Lack of manpower, rise in case load are attributed as reasons for haphazard manner in which results are communicated to persons concerned.
"We gave samples for testing on July 18 and we were told that results would be ready in 30 minutes or so. When nobody told us anything about results that day or a day later, we assumed results would have been negative. Negative results are seldom communicated to persons and one is given an impression that if nobody from health or district adminisration contacts you we have to assume we are negative. There was four-five day gap between collection of samples and official communication of results and we had to get involved in many activities which come under our official responsibilities," said a councillor who has been tested positive.
One of the councillors who was tested positive said that they were very cautious about preventing infection and they are puzzled as to how they got infected. "Till Saturday, no one in our family has been affected. They are not showing any symptoms either. Even when cases were confirmed in the ward, I had taken care to abide by protocol," said another councillor.
A special sample collection drive will be held for contacts of one councillor since there are around 45 family members among 12 houses who live together. The councillor said that there was no positive case in her ward so far and she had got in contact with a policeman at a check point and he was tested positive a day after her results were confirmed. Absence of symptoms among the confirmed patients and even among their primary contacts may have forced health department to do a confirmatory test. Meanwhile, results of mayor K Sreekumar who went into self isolation on Friday came out negative on Saturday.