Bengaluru: It was a trauma of life for 28-year-old Bengaluru resident . She had to spend 14 days in home isolation due to a data entry goof up which termed her COVID-19 ‘positive’. And after completing her 14 days home quarantine,the woman was all prepared to donate plasma and that’s when it revealed before her. She went to Jayanagar General Hospital to get a COVID-19 negative certificate in order to donate plasma.
According to a report, the woman developed mild fever earlier this month and went to the Hospital for a COVID-19 check-up. A day later she got a call from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials that she was tested positive and either get herself admitted to hospital or choose 14-day home isolation.She chose home quarantine and her isolation ended on August 16. She discovered the error when she went to the hospital to get a copy of her test report.The enquiries suggested that the woman was termed ‘COVID-19 positive’ due to a data entry error by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) on ICMR website. It was at NIMHANS where her sample was tested.
However, the error was rectified by NIMHANS within 3 hours but by that time BBMP had taken her COVID report from ICMR portal and initiated the pandemic protocol. The BBMP records continued to show her as COVID-19 positive. Meanwhile, Dr RV Ravi, professor and head of the department of neurovirology at NIMHANS, has regretted the psychological trauma to the woman.
“I discussed the matter with a senior official, who even went on to the extent of advising counselling and psychiatrist help. I do not need counselling, what I need is that the government should own up to its mistake. The officer even told me to think of the isolation period as a ‘break’. Why do I need a break when I am not even a patient,” the woman said.
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