New testing guidelines leave Ghatkopar family distressed

A family of four had a harrowing experience after the BMC decided to implement the new ICMR guidelines of testing the asymptomatic highrisk contacts of a COVID19 positive case only after Day 5 of coming in contact with the patientA man who lived in an apartment at Pant Nagar Ghatkopar tested positive for the novel Coronavirus and his building was sealed on April 13 While he was admitted to the hospital where he worked his parents both senior citizens and brother were asked to home quarantineThey requested the BMC that they be tested even though they hadnt started showing the symptoms However their requests allegedly fell on deaf ears and the family decided to get themselves tested at a private laboratory where they spent R13500We were under stress as both of my parents are senior citizens We pleaded for tests several times but the doctor kept repeating the same ICMR guidelines He advised us to go to Rajawadi hospital in our own vehicle We tried it on Friday but the police did not allow us to leave our building said the brother of the hospital staffer who tested positive firstLocal activist Ajay Bagal said his brother had recovered and wanted to return home but couldnt as his family members hadnt been testedOn Saturday the brother of the staffer and their parents managed to reach Rajawadi hospital but they had to return after two hours as no one cooperated They finally contacted a private lab which sent an assistant to collect the samples on Sunday On Monday evening the lab informed the BMC that all three have tested positiveThere were no beds available My brother asked for my parents to be admitted to a private hospital They were shifted there at midnight BMC officials took me to an isolation facility at a hotel the brother told midday on Tuesday afternoon Around 3 pm the BMC moved the brother to another private hospital after he developed the symptomsPrabhakar Shinde a group leader of the BJP in the BMC who raised the issue said The guidelines was issued considering the general trend but it has to be applied judicially There are senior citizens in the family The ward office ignored their pleas Who is responsible if something goes wrong He added The son who first tested positive had recovered and wanted to return home but due to the apathy of the civic body now the family is separated Ajit Kumar Ambi assistant commissioner of N ward said We are following ICMR guidelines At our level we decided to do a test on 8th or 9th day so that the result wont come back false negative He added We cannot bend the rule for every family but we will definitely inform the higher authorities about such a situationMumbai did not record a drastic rise in positive cases over the past four days because the BMC has started following the new guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR ICMR states that asymptomatic direct and highrisk contacts of a COVID19 patient should be tested once between Day 5 and Day 14 of coming in contact Instead of testing the asymptomatic people as they did before the BMC have instructed them to remain in home quarantineCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news