15 sent home before COVID test report in HP, probe ordered

Hamirpur: Fifteen COVID-19 patients in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur were sent home from quarantine centres while reports of their second tests were still awaited, prompting the district administration to order a probe, an official said on Thursday.

They were brought back and sent to COVID care centres after their test reports came back positive, he said.

These 15 people had returned from Maharashtra’s Mumbai and Thane on a special train and were under institutional quarantine at Navodaya Vidyalaya, Doongri, Deotsidh and Nadaun, according to Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena.

Their first samples, which were sent to the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, had tested negative for COVID-19 on Sunday. Their samples were taken again and they tested positive on Wednesday night, he told reporters.

However, these people were sent back home on Wednesday afternoon on the basis of the results of their first tests, he added.

After the reports of the second round of tests came on Wednesday, Meena said, all sub-divisional magistrates were informed. The 15 people were brought back and sent to different COVID centres for isolation and treatment.

An inquiry has been ordered into the matter, he said.

The deputy commissioner appealed to all those who have been discharged after testing negative twice for COVID-19 to remain in home quarantine for at least two weeks for the safety of others.

Such persons should not mingle with others for 14 more days, Meena said.

There have been cases wherein a person has tested positive for COVID-19 after recovering from the disease, he said.

Himachal Pradesh has reported 277 cases of COVID-19 so far. Hamirpur has the highest number of active cases in the state at 85, according to official data.