Four days after Covid-19 positive report, man confirmed negative

Ludhiana: Four days after verbal confirmation of Covid-19 positive report and even treatment at the civil hospital, a New Madhopuri man received a message from the Punjab health department that he had tested negative for the deadly virus.
Shocked and angry, Joginder Pal, 54, who runs a street food stall, said in the last week of August, he started facing breathing problems. He visited a private hospital and got an X-ray done, which revealed chest infection. He was recommended hospital admission.
Joginder Pal said, “I was not able to get admission in a private hospital, so my son took me to the civil hospital on August 28. There, the hospital staffers got my corona test done. Next day, the staffers verbally told me and my family about the positive status. I was shifted to a ward where I was the only patient. My treatment also started. My family got tense as I also had a respiratory problem. We are a family of seven members, including my wife, four sons and a daughter-in-law.”
He said four days later, he was shocked to receive a message from the Punjab government that his Covid-19 test report was negative. “For a moment, I could not understand what had happened. If I was positive or not. Then I called my son and asked him to talk to the doctors,” he added.
His son, Ankush Kumar, said, “On getting information, I rushed to the staffers of the civil hospital and inquired about the actual report. They asked me to come the next day. When I reached there, they said I need not worry as my father was alone in the ward and would not get corona infection from anyone. Thereafter, the treatment of chest infection started. On Saturday night, he was discharged. It is such a big negligence, as my father, who already had a respiratory problem due to chest infection, could have contracted the virus.”
However, the family has not lodged any complaint with the health department.
Chief medical officer Dr Rajesh Bagga said, “A couple of cases have come to my knowledge in which a patient was positive, but the SMS released by the government was wrongly sent as negative. I don’t know about this particular case. The patient and kin can check report on the online portal, which is authentic. Besides, I have already told senior officials about such messages giving wrong information.”