News Analysis India

Tag: COVID 19 testing

  • Kumbh fake Covid testing: Investigation report to be submitted soon to Uttarakhand govt officials

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: District administrator of Haridwar is likely to submit a report on the alleged fake Covid-19 testing scam that took place during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela.

    The report once finalised will be forwarded to senior authorities in the Uttarakhand government for further action. 

    “The investigation is on and the report will be submitted to the DM this week only. The probe involves too many factors enmasse which is why it took over a month,” said an official involved in the probe.

    An inquiry was ordered on June 10 by the Haridwar district administration. The DM had directed to complete the inquiry within 15 days but extension was granted after request made by the officials probing the the scam. 

    Till date around 65,000 phone numbers, registered in the testing camp, have been cross-checked. While close to 25,000 are yet to be verified.

    Officials said that there is no short cut for this as they have to go through each and every number individually by calling and verifying the details.

    Earlier this month, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had added Section 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc) in the already registered FIR against a firm and two pathology laboratories accused of irregularities in Covid-19 testing in Kumbh.

    Cases were registered last month under sections of Epidemic Act, 1897, Disaster Management Act, 2005, IPC 420 (forgery), 468(forgery), 471(fraudulently using as genuine any document or electronic record), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 188 (punishment for disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant),  269 and 270 (likely to spread infection).

    Meanwhile, the role of Chief Medical Officer of Haridwar has come under scanner in the ongoing SIT probe.

    The CMO of Haridwar Dr SK Jha, now posted as CMO of Rudraprayag district, was tasked with providing free first-aid services at Kedarnath last year.

    The same lab was also conducting Covid-19 tests in Haridwar during Kumbh. This angle is also being probed by the SIT officials. 

  • Tribals in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh flee into forest to escape COVID-19 test

    By PTI
    PITHORAGARH: Residents of a tribal village here ran to a nearby forest when a team of district health workers came to their doorsteps recently to test them for COVID-19.

    Kuta Chaurani village is inhabited by Banrawats – an endangered tribe.

    The shy tribals fled to the adjoining forest on getting information about the arrival of a Covid testing team in their village on Friday, Didihat SDM KN Goswami said on Sunday.

    “While we could test residents of Aultari and Jamtari villages, those living in Kuta Chaurani fled to the forest,” the SDM said.

    The Banrawat community was declared a primitive tribe on the verge of extinction by the Government of India in 1967.

    “Over 500 members of this highly endangered tribe are living in eight localities of Didihat sub division. We had sent our corona testing team to Aultari, Jamtari and Kuta Chaurani villages to test them. A total of 191 members of the community from Aultari and Jamtari came forward to undergo the test but residents of Kuta Chaurani fled to the forests to avoid tests,” Goswami said.

    “The villagers were afraid that the swab strip taken for the test would infect them,” the SDM said.

    Jagat Singhingh Rajwar, an elderly member of the community from Kuta Chaurani village, said the swab tester could cause further infection to them.

    “We are ready to go for a health check, take medicines but do not agree to let the strip enter our body, ” Rajwar said.

    According to the SDM, his team has persuaded some literate members of the community to create awareness among the locals about the necessity of the tests.

    “We will make another attempt to test them in two-three days,” Goswami said.

    Sanju Pant, coordinator of Didihat youth society, said corona kits have been distributed among some members of the community after taking them into confidence.

    The administration has also been informed about the poor conditions in which the members of the endangered tribal community are forced to live with no work for them due to the coronavirus lockdown, Pant said.

    “We have requested the administration to distribute consumer goods other than food material to the community members,” he said.

    The SDM said packets of spices, edible oil and other essential items besides food packets have been distributed among them for free.

    According to Didihat youth society sources, the community is facing dire shortage of essential goods as there is no earning for them due to the lockdown.

    “If their plight is not addressed, they might face hunger and death,” Pant said.

    SDM Didihat said he has written to the block development officer of Didihat and the district development officer of Pithoragarh to give members of the community work under the MGNREGA.

    “We will not let the community face hunger.

    We maintain a vigil on them through our revenue officials lest they should face any shortage of food,” he said. 

  • Uttarakhand government slashes coronavirus test rate to Rs 500

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: To combat COVID-19 epidemic more effectively, Uttarakhand state government on Friday announced cutting the costs of Covid-19 tests, RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Tests.

    The cost of the RT-PCR test which was earlier Rs 900, has been now slashed to Rs 500 while, the Rapid Antigen Test is now fixed at Rs 427, which was earlier Rs 719. 

    Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister said, “The decision is to scale up the fight against the pandemic. We have done well as our national leadership is visionary. Vaccination drive has been started and soon we will won this fight.”

    The state has already started vaccination drive across 13 districts and has procured over 2 lakh doses of Covid vaccine.

    Till Thursday, total count of Covid infectees reached 95,354 with 1876 active cases in the state. The pandemic has claimed total 1626 lives across 13 districts of the state till Thursday.