A family in Kerala’s Malappuram district has alleged negligence on the part of authorities after three children, who did not have COVID-19 were admitted to a treatment facility. The three children aged, 11, 10 and seven, are presently at a First Line Treatment Centre (FLTC) in the district, with three other family members who have COVID-19.
It was on August 12 that Anjana* and five other family members including her sister, sister’s children and brother’s child, got tested for the novel coronavirus after her husband, a police officer, was found to have the disease. On Saturday, results of three including Anjana, her sister and sister’s daughter returned positive.
Though the results of the other three children were not initially known along with the first set of results, according to the family, an ambulance was later sent to pick up the six family members, including children. They were admitted to the FLTC in Perinthalmanna. It was on Sunday noon, that the family again got a call stating that three children -- Anjana’s two kids and her brother’s daughter -- had tested negative. The family who was taken aback by the incident, plans to raise a complaint with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, calling out the alleged lapse of officials.
“On Saturday we received a call from officials that three of us were positive but we were told that the results of three others, who are children, are not yet ready. By evening, we got a call from an ambulance driver saying that he had come to our place to pick us up,” Anjana tells TNM.
She said that they were worried as they didnt know what to do with the three children as their results were awaited. “Since we could not leave them alone in the house, I called in a number which the ambulance driver gave me. It belonged to those associated with the laboratory. I explained to them the situation and also told them that the ambulance driver was waiting to pick the three of us. They cut the call saying they will get back. Following this, I received a call from the ambulance driver, saying that he was told to pick up the three children along with us. With this, we assumed that maybe the children may also have turned positive,” says Anjana.
Call recordings of Anjana’s calls with the ambulance driver which TNM accessed also reveals the same. The family also did not enquire further as the ambulance driver said he has been told to pick up the three children as well.
The six of them reached Manjeri Medical College by 7 pm on Saturday, from where, according to Anjana, after completion of registration process, they were sent to an FLTC in Perinthalmanna.
“On Sunday, again I got a call from authorities from where our samples were tested saying that the three children are negative. Though we contacted many health officials, till this moment no one has told us what to do. The children who were tested negative, continue to be in our same room in FLTC,” said Anjana desperately.
“If we knew the children were negative, we could have arranged them accommodation in some safe place,” she said. “They had to wait along with us and hundreds of other COVID-19 patients in Manjeri Medical College while waiting for the registration process. What if they contracted disease during this time? Who will take their responsibility. Out of the three, one is my brother’s daughter. What answer am I supposed to give to their family,” she asked.
Though TNM contacted two health officials associated in Malappuram district, a clear answer was not told on how three children who were not tested positive got admitted in an FLTC.