Handwara, May 19 (KNO): Panic gripped Langate area of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district after a COVID patient was “mistakenly” sent home.
The patient was allowed to proceed home with negative COVID certificate but during mid-night he was against brought back to hospital in Kupwara where he was declared as positive for COVID. He, however, did the damage as he spent seven hours with his family members, neighbours and relatives after reaching home.
Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), family members of the patient alleged sheer negligence of authorities in Baramulla who after giving negative certificate allowed their son to go home but later picked him from home at Hajin Langate after declaring him positive.
“Our son was under administrative quarantine at Saint Joseph School, now a quarantine centre, at Baramulla for two days after his samples were collected at Udhampur on arrival the results of which returned on May 18 after which BMO provided him negative COVID certificate on Monday morning and that he was allowed to proceed towards home along with his brother in a private vehicle,” they said.
They said that at around 3 pm afternoon their son reached home and remained with them for around seven hours until he was picked by joint team but till then he came in close touch with number of people including, relatives, family members and neighbours.
“Around 09:30 PM in the evening joint team took him away without giving us any proof that he was COVID positive since when in the day he was given negative certificate by medical authorities”, they said.
Citing the negligence of medical authority’s the family members said that the incident has triggered panic in the area and the family members of the youth are in a shock. "The height of negligence is that they did not even provide vehicle for transportation but later family member’s came and took the youth. They too got exposed to deadly virus without knowing the reality,” they said.
The youth while talking to KNO said that it’s the negligence on part of the health authorities who has not put his life at danger but the lives of his family members and other relatives too.
“Entire blame lies on the health officials who first declared me COVID negative and then again brought me back to the quarantine centre. I came in contact with my family, relatives and also neighbours, who is responsible for all this mess,” he said—(KNO)