Two suspected patients of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) were discharged from a hospital in Uttarakhand’s US Nagar and sent to home quarantine before their reports were received on Saturday.
Both of them tested positive for the respiratory disease. They have been now sent to the Covid-19 hospital in Haldwani.
Neeraj Khairwal, US Nagar’s district magistrate, has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
“This is a case of direct dereliction of duty and a serious matter. I have ordered an inquiry into the case and action will be taken accordingly against the accused health officials. People who came into their contact after they were sent home have also been kept in isolation now,” Khairwal said.
The two patients from Mahtosh village of Gadarpur had come from Maharashtra on a three-wheeler on Wednesday. They were intercepted by Pulbhatta Police in Kichha while crossing the inter-state border.
Health officials checked them and sent them to Pantnagar for quarantine. Later, they were shifted to the Rudrapur district hospital for isolation.
Doctors discharged them on Friday evening when the sample reports received from Dehradun said their samples had tested negative. But their test results positive came on Saturday.
Both the patients were then called back to the hospital and put under isolation. Later, they were shifted to the Covid-19 hospital in Haldwani and others who came into their contact were identified and quarantined.
“It happened due to confusion. We receive sample reports daily from Dehradun. Nodal officer of these Covid-19 patients was at Radha Swamy Satsang quarantine centre on Kichha road on Friday when the reports were received,” Dr TD Rakholia, chief medical superintendent (CMS) of the district hospital, said.
Dr Rakholia said the nodal officer received a message that all the reports were normal following which he asked his staff that quarantined people should be discharged.
“Quarantined people are also creating problems by pressurising us to discharge them immediately for home quarantine. In confusion, the two patients were sent to home quarantine. We will take care of such cases in future and it won’t happen again,” he said.
He said the nodal officer, a physician, is overburdened with work.
“He has to visit all the quarantine centres and has to sit in the district hospital also. The mistake was unintentional,” he added.
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