–I did not know that my test results would come out positive and hence, I went out like any other Lahori as everyone was socialising, says Nazia Atif
LAHORE: Contradictory test reports for suspected cases of coronavirus, carried out by both the government and private laboratories, have caused anxiety in an influential family and its social circle while the general public too, is now panicking about the authenticity of Covid-19 labs.
On March 18, Nazia Atif [relative of ex-senator Waqar Gulzar] received a test report from Chughtai Lab confirming that she was a carrier. However, she tested negative for the virus twice according to samples that were sent to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (PSHD) lab during her stay at Mayo Hospital.
The new reports, shared by one of her family members, were generated on March 19 and March 20 whereas she [Nazia] was sent back home on the basis of the PSHD lab reports.
Well-maintained sources in PSHD while seeking anonymity revealed that anything was possible for an influential at a government operated lab where furnishing test results on request, like changing a positive to negative or vice versa, is already the norm.
On the other hand, a PSHD lab official denied this information saying that it was not possible. “The government is on high alert regarding this pandemic. Also, all labs have the same testing kits,” the source said.
“All of the country’s labs, including ours, are testing coronavirus with a method called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which is very reliable. We can perform multiple tests at the same time whereas it takes 4-5 hours to read the sample [throat or nose swabs]. The private lab should test the patient again to clear the situation as we have conviction in our reports,” the official added.
“Sometimes when a previously positive patient tests negative it can mean that their immune system worked very fast and fought against the virus. The second reason for this confusion may be an improper method of taking the sample,” the official further explained.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, Nazia Atif said, “I am in severe trauma because of the behaviour of health officials, media, police, Mayo Hospital staff, social media bloggers and other individuals around us who are stigmatising testing positive for Covid-19. I did not know that my test results would come out positive and hence, I went out like any other Lahori would as everyone was socialising”.
“Looking back, I think that we should all practice strict social distancing,” she added.
Nazia also lamented about the substandard conditions she had to endure at Mayo Hospital. “After Chugtai Lab’s report, I was committed to three days in quarantine at Mayo hospital in very unhygienic conditions. There is no treatment taking place over there and there is no treatment for this virus,” she said.
Nazia believes that the government should have a lockdown similar to Taiwan, California and Italy. “They aren’t testing people without symptoms and recommending self-quarantine. Hospitals should be reserved for people with extreme symptoms”.
On the other hand, Chughtai Labs shared a statement on Twitter assuring the public about their professionalism. “We take the quality and accuracy of our work very seriously, and we stand by all Covid PCR reports issued by us. Patients with positive results are requested to remain in isolation to minimise the spread of the viral infection,” the Tweet said.
