Report delay upsets UK returnee

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 1

A UK returnee, who has been isolated at a government facility for the past six days, is upset over the delay in his Covid test result. The Health Department has sent the samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, to confirm whether the patient is carrying a mutated virus or not.

253 new cases

Chandigarh: In all, eight persons, including three each from Amritsar and Ludhiana, succumbed to Covid during the past 24 hours, while 253 new cases were reported. TNS

Talking over the phone, the returnee said he was upset over the fact that six days had already passed, still he had no information about his test report.

The 47-year-old patient has been isolated at the Rajpura Civil Hospital. The department had sent the sample to the NIV on December 27.

The patient said, “I came here to spend time with my family and not to stay in isolation. I don’t have Covid symptoms. Moreover, I was tested in the UK before I came to India.”

Rajesh Bhasker, state nodal officer, Health, said, “We had a word with officials at the NIV, and they said test reports will take time. I don’t know when the reports will come.”