In a major goof-up, the Civil Hospital in Jalandhar, Punjab, discharged a COVID-19 positive patient, before recalling him after almost eight hours.
The 27-year-old patient was declared negative and discharged yesterday afternoon. Even as he and his family were heaving a sigh of relief, the hospital authorities, on seeing his swab analysis report, realised their folly and called him back. Though the hospital refused to divulge any details, highly-placed sources revealed that he was called in only at midnight—almost eight hours after he was discharged.
“I have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and I will reveal the reasons or consequences after I get the report,” Dr Gurinder Kaur Chawla, Jalandhar Civil surgeon, told THE WEEK.
The patient has been quizzed about the people he met after being discharged and all of them are being quarantined and tested.
“We are now trailing his primary contacts and the places they visited or people they met. This is a worrisome situation,” revealed a senior doctor.
Jalandhar has the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases—85—in Punjab. The district turned into a COVID-19 hotspot within a short span of time and what has left health authorities worried is that the source of infection among many patients is still a mystery.
Meanwhile, due to the rise in cases in Jalandhar, the neighbouring town of Hoshiarpur has sealed all roads linking to Jalandhar and is denying entry to anybody from the district. Hoshiarpur residents are also been asked refrain from travelling there.
Hoshiarpur reported three fresh cases today, taking the total in the district to 11.
Eleven people tested positive in Ludhiana, among which seven were pilgrims who returned from Nanded, Maharashtra, and four are students from Kota.
All are asymptomatic as of now. Two pilgrims who returned from Nanded, Maharashtra, were also tested positive in Faridkot.
