In a display of criminal callousness, on part of both the patients and the district administration, several Covid-19 patients in Larkana were found to be roaming the streets despite a rise in cases of local transmission in the district.
In a telephonic conversation that surfaced, a man who had tested positive for the virus could be heard telling people not to take the issue seriously.
Identified as an office bearer of a jewellery association in Larkana, the man was heard saying the following on the phone: “I have been tested positive, but please don’t take it seriously. This all seems to be a drama and conspiracy. You will be tested positive wherever you go. I have no symptoms, and I am sitting with other friends at a restaurant. I will be outside tomorrow.”
Soon after the conversation was leaked, the district administration deputed police officials to residences of those who were tested positive for the deadly pathogen.
“Around 18 to 20 positive patients with mild symptoms live in isolation at their homes. They are roaming the city, spreading the virus to others,” an official at the Chandka Teaching Hospital told The Express Tribune.
He said there were no proper facilities at the hospital’s isolation centre.
“No one takes notices of unhygienic conditions and lack of basic facilities at isolation centres. We have informed the local administration, but all has been in vain,” he said.
Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that two Covid-19 positive patients had been traced in Hyderabad. They have been shifted to a quarantine centre in the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro.
Another person from Larkana, who was also unaware of the seriousness of the situation, has been admitted at the Civil Hospital in Karachi after his condition deteriorated.
According to officials, there are around 87 positive cases in Larkana as of now, whereas 40 tests were conducted yesterday.
There were reports that a few people had also managed to escape from an isolation centre in Ghotki, but officials did not confirm the news.
It may be mentioned here that four areas of Larkana had been sealed following a surge in cases of local transmission there.
In Larkana, coronavirus infected citizens roam the streets | The Express Tribune
When reports surfaced, police officials were deployed outside the patients' homes
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