Woman wrongly declared COVID-19 positive, discharged from hospital in Shamli

A woman from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district was wrongly identified as having contracted COVID-19 infection after a laboratory apparently mismatched her samples with that of her namesake from another district who tested positive, officials said.

The woman was discharged on Friday from a hospital in Shamli where she was quarantined while her actual test results are still awaited, they added.

According to Additional Chief Medical Officer (Shamli) Phal Kumar, the mistake happened as Meerut Medical College wrongly sent a report that the woman had tested positive but it turned out to be that of another woman with the same name.

The woman along with her her three family members gave their samples that had been sent to the medical college after she had come from Panipat in Haryana to stay at Ragana village in Shamli district one week ago.

After receiving the initial report, the health department took precautionary measures and admitted the woman to an isolation ward in a hospital on Thursday night while her three family members were also shifted to a quarantine ward.

The entire street where they were staying was sealed by authorities.

On Friday early morning, the mistake came to light that the woman was wrongly declared as positive.