Coronavirus pandemic | Aligarh lab wrongly declares 68-year-old man COVID-19 positive

A 68-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha was wrongly declared COVID-19 positive by an Aligarh lab. The incorrect test results, which was conducted for cold and sore throat, was reportedly because of a typographical error.

Officials said the test was conducted at a primary health centre (PHC) in Amroha after the elderly man from Nauganva village complained of cold and sore throat, reported Hindustan Times. The PHC’s in-charge, Dr Umar Farooq, said the man also had fever and was referred to Moradabad district hospital where he was admitted on April 6.

Farooq said the patient’s blood sample was sent for testing to a lab at Aligarh Medical College where samples for coronavirus were being tested. “When the test report came in, we were told by medical officials in Moradabad that the man had tested positive,” he said.

Six ambulances were immediately rushed to quarantine eight of his family members and track down others who had come into his contact. After conducting the screen test, all eight family members were tested negative.

However, in a twist of events, the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) office in Moradabad confirmed that the man’s name had been wrongly added to the list of positive cases. “The earlier report had, by mistake, mentioned that the patient was coronavirus positive,” said CMO Moradabad Dr M C Garg. The error was due to the misprint by the lab in Aligarh where the blood sample of the man was sent.

Megh Singh, CMO, Amroha, said the man was confirmed negative for coronavirus and discharged earlier this week.