6 positive, 4 negative test reports leave Hisar man baffled

HISAR: 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 coronafree man. 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. “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 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 said, “There are different types of methodology for examining samples for Covid-19. There is a difference in sensitivity of kits as well. Positivity in the tests simply means that there is presence of the virus in the body.”