COVID-19: 2 men from Mumbai, Thane tests both positive and negative in 24 hours

In a bizarre incident, two persons this week got shockers on their COVID-19 infection status from a government lab, two private labs of the same company, and status on the Centre's portal.

One person from Mumbai and one from Thane underwent their RT-PCR tests; however, within 24 hours they were declared as both -- 'Negative' and 'Positive'.

During these crucial times, this confusion led to havoc in their lives, families, neighbourhood, offices and travel plans.

According to accounts, on Monday, January 10, a Mumbai realtor Vijay P. Agarwal, 58, of Malad, who had to step out for some meetings, routinely checked his status on the Centre's Aarogya Setu portal and was aghast to find himself mentioned as 'Positive'.

Soon, he went into self-isolation and took the RT-PCR test from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) centre near his house to confirm infection status. A day later, on Tuesday, January 11, the test came out as 'Negative', creating further confusion.

After facing flak at home and the neighbourhood for the mega-scare, Agarwal has shot off an email to Aarogya Setu authorities seeking an explanation for their misleading status against his name, but no response has been received.

In a similar incident, a Thane resident, K.G., 40, who was due to fly to the Arabian Gulf last week narrated that he underwent the pre-flight mandatory RT-PCR test at a reputed private lab and was relieved to find it as 'Negative', so he made preparations for his flight the next day (January 3).

However, when he went to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), the officials asked him to do another RT-PCR test. Shockingly, that report came 'Positive' and he could not board the flight. Interesting, both the test results, received within a gap of barely 24 hours, were conducted by the same lab at their Thane branch and at the CSMIA.

He was in the home isolation for a week, then again underwent RT-PCR test, which came 'Positive' on Tuesday, January 11, and his foreign travel plans have been further nixed.