6 positive, 4 negative Covid test reports raise questions over sampling process
Haryana’s nodal officer for Covid-19 Dr Dhruv Chaudhary also ruled out any difference between tests conducted at NRCE and PGIMS
Inconsistencies which emerged in the sampling results of a Covid-19 patient from Hisar have raised questions on the testing process of the state health authorities.
The 29-year old patient was subjected to 10 tests to check the presence of coronavirus in his body over a month. The man was in for an ordeal as he tested positive in six and negative in four reports.
The uncertainty over his Covid-19 status continued for a month before he finally walked out of the isolation ward of Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, on Tuesday as a corona-free man.
The inconsistencies in the outcome of the tests have been puzzling even as his month-long fightback after returning from Ghaziabad is inspiring. The patient, who is a resident of Hisar, also wrote an email to health minister Anil Vij on May 22, raising questions over the testing process.
He told the minister that two days after he returned from Ghaziabad on April 23, where he runs a transport business, he was tested positive for coronavirus and sent to the isolation ward of Agroha medical college.
As per his email, his first three samples were tested positive for Covid-19, while his fourth and fifth samples tested negative. He said he was still asked to stay at the hospital’s isolation ward.
“On Tuesday, one month and four negative tests later, I finally returned home. I do not understand that despite testing negative for a couple of times and being asymptomatic, why was I kept in the isolation ward for so long. However, I will remain quarantined in my home just for the safety of my pregnant wife and other family members,” the patient said.
Dr Yogesh Sharma, chief medical officer of Hisar civil hospital, said there is no difference between the tests conducted at Hisar’s National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) and Rohtak’s Post Graduation Institute of Medical Science (PGIMS). “In some cases, a patient might even take 40 days before his report turns out to be negative. It depends on the body’s immunity,” Sharma said, adding that in most of the cases, patients are asymptomatic.
Haryana’s nodal officer for Covid-19 Dr Dhruv Chaudhary also ruled out any difference between tests conducted at NRCE and PGIMS.
“Though, there are different types of methodology for examining samples for Covid-19. There is a difference in sensitivity of kits as well. Some people take 10 to 14 days before their reports come out negative, while some may take up to six weeks. Positivity in the tests simply means that there is presence of the virus in the body.”