On May 30, a 43-year-old man arrived in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district from Kuwait, with no symptoms. As per the Kerala government’s protocols, asymptomatic international passengers will be sent to institutional quarantine for seven days, with testing on the seventh day.

However, the 43-year-old from Karavaram in Attingal was directly taken to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, where the doctors took his swab samples.

A day later, on May 31, he was dropped off to his house in an ambulance after the duty doctor discharged him, even before his result arrived. Hours later, his results tested positive for coronavirus and he was immediately asked to come back to the hospital.

Taking note of this, state Health Minister KK Shailaja has ordered a probe into the probe alleged lapse on the part of the hospital.

As per the state government’s guidelines, a suspected case of coronavirus is retained in the hospital till his/her swab samples arrive. If tested negative, they are allowed home quarantine.

According to the authorities of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, the 43-year-old man had a history of COVID-19 when he was in Kuwait and that is why he was brought to the hospital for testing, although he was asymptomatic.

“We brought him in to check if he was stable and test him once again, as he had had the virus when he was in Kuwait and was on ventilator support,” Dr Sharmad, the medical superintendent of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, told TNM.

“However, his medical reports from Kuwait said he had recovered and had tested negative three times. He was put under observation for a day, all his vitals were stable and he also did not exhibit any symptoms the next day. Our doctor on duty that day saw these reports from the Kuwait hospital, and discharged him based on this report. He was unaware that the previous day’s test result was yet to return. That was the only lapse on our part,” said Dr Sharmad.

The patient was taken home in an ambulance, following all quarantine rules, Dr Sharmad said.

However, KK Shailaja has ordered a probe into the incident, stating that several health workers were risking their lives to monitor patients in quarantine and that such a lapse from the hospital should never take place.