Plaints about Navi Mumbai labs issuing fake COVID-19 reports
Amid growing complaints that somelaboratories in Maharashtras Navi Mumbai were issuing fakeCOVID-19 negative reports of people, including of those whohave died years ago, the civic body has launched an inquiryinto the matter.
Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation(NMMC) Abhijeet Bangar said this on Thursday and added thataction will be taken against those found indulging in suchmalpractices.
An activist alleged that some laboratories seekdetails of the family members of a person visiting the COVID-19 testing centre and then prepare fake negative reports intheir name to show that tests have been conducted on all thesepeople in order to claim funding for each test.
Talking to reporters, Bangar said, “I have receivedseveral complaints that fake negative reports of COVID-19tests were being prepared by some testing laboratories. I haveordered an inquiry into the matter and responsibilities willbe fixed. We will take appropriate actions against those whofound involved in it.” Ankush Kadam, a social activist from Navi Mumbai said,”The modus operandi of some laboratories is that they ask forthe details of the family members of a person visiting theCOVID-19 testing centre and then prepare fake negative reportsin their names. The idea is to show that all these tests wereconducted by the lab. The motive is to claim funding meant foreach number of test shown on paper.” “If anyone suspected to have come in contact withsomeone who has tested COVID-19 positive, then that person andhis or her immediate contacts, such as family members, shouldbe tested for the infection. It is called contact tracing.
However, some labs are testing only one person, but preparingfake negative reports in the name of that persons relatives,”Kadam alleged.
“I came to know about this malpractice a few weeksback and we exposed it. I wonder what must have been done bythese labs in the last eight months,” he said.
Vishal Kadam, a resident of Navi Mumbai got thisexperience.
“Some 20 days back, I had gone for COVID-19 testing ofat a nearby centre. They asked me about my family members andwithin an hour, their negative reports were prepared by thefacility. Surprisingly, one report was in my mothers namewhich said that she has tested negative. But the fact is thatshe had died three months back,” he said.
Another resident Vishal Awale had a similarexperience.
“As I came to know that some labs were indulging insuch malpractices, I went to a nearby testing centre and toldthem the name of my father, but didnt tell that he died nineyears back. My test was carried out at 7.45 pm and within halfan hour I was told that I have tested negative for COVID-19. Iwas also given my fathers negative report,” he said.
“All this is nothing but playing with the lives ofpeoples lives. It clearly means claims of contact tracing arefaulty and not reliable,” he said.
Maharashtra BJP leader Praveen Darekar visited NMMCcommissioner office and demanded a thorough inquiry into thematter.
“It is outrageous that laboratories and other testingcentres are preparing fake reports to get more funding. I amgoing to raise the issue with the health department. Thecommissioner should carry out in-depth inquiry and punish thethose involved,” the Leader of Opposition in MaharashtraLegislative Council said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)