By KNB on 23/05/2020.

Baramulla, May 23:  Despite being declared negative a day before for Covid 19, and discharged from hospital along with a recovery certificate issued by Block Medical Officer (BMO) Sopore, two patients from Ichloo village of Tangmarg tested positive again create panic among masses.

Residents of the Hardu village alleged it as sheer negligence on the part of the health department by discharging patients even before waiting for the reports of the samples taken a day prior to discharging.

According to family sources of patients, testing samples of both were taken on 18 May 2020 and surprisingly, the health department discharged both the patients and issued recovery certificates to the patients on 19 May 2020, however both patients tested positive on 4/4/2020 and 4/05/2020 respectively as revealed by recovery certificates.

Meanwhile, the health department had sent an ambulance to take the family for administrative quarantine  on 22 May 2020, but family had categorically denied to shift to the quarantine centre as they have been discharged, “At first they should take action against those who issued recovery certificate despite they had taken the sample on 18 May 2020,” they said.

“We got a call from Nodal officer SDH Tangmarg, regarding shifting but we have denied to shift to administrative quarantine as we have been issued a recovery certificate and discharged even after our samples were taken.”

“It is a complete negligence from the side of the health department where they claim that social distance is maintained in administrative quarantine but we are home quarantine, we can maintain it here better than that of a hospital where 50 people use a single bathroom,” they further said.

While talking to Kashmir News Bureau, Block Medical Officer Sopore Dr Asif Khanday said, “It is clearly written in guidelines that Patients can be discharged after 10 days of symptom onset and if they have no symptoms there will be no need for testing prior to discharge they can be sent home quarantine.”

When asked about the samples being taken he said,” The samples were taken for study purposes where  two out of 12 samples have returned positive, we have discharged them as per the guidelines which is also mentioned in the recovery certificate. Since this is the only Covid hospital here and we too follow all the guidelines issued of Ministry of health, there is no negligence on part of department.”