Is Punjab Govt reluctant to investigate COVID-19 reinfections?

Lahore, 27th November: The Punjab government seems reluctant to investigate the COVID-19 reinfections in the province.

According to a report from the Dawn News, the Punjab government is reluctant to investigate and notify the COVID-19 reinfections that have seen a sudden surge recently in the province.

As per latest reports, a deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Punjab Police tested positive for the virus again. He contracted the disease around a month after he was first diagnosed with the virus in the reports by a government lab. He spent more than two weeks in isolation at home. As per reports, he recovered and resumed his duty when he tested negative.

Some days back, he again developed symptoms of the coronavirus and underwent the testing by a private lab, which confirmed that he had contracting COVID-19 again.

The DIG confirmed to this reporter that he had tested positive twice during a month or so and was isolated at home.

Similarly, retired Capt Muhammad Safdar, the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, also recently got the coronavirus infection a second time.

However, according to the report by the Dawn News, the health authorities distanced themselves from this reinfection, which was yet to be investigated, a senior official said.

He informed that two other such reinfection cases had come to light when an area manager and his assistant in a bank in DHA, Lahore tested positive for the second time.

Sources tell that the Punjab Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department that was supposed to investigate the officers seemed reluctant to take the matter of reinfections seriously.

A spokesperson for the department told Dawn that the health experts had received three such cases at the beginning of the first wave in March and April. He said the system had, at that time, generated alerts when the CNIC numbers of the three patients were reentered in the data system showing them positive cases for the COVID-19.

However, he added, the department’s medical and health experts had declared these reinfections doubtful because of certain reasons.

“We again got some details of about reinfection case of a senior police officer on Thursday. The health department would refer this reinfection to the Corona Experts Advisory Group (CEAG), which was the relevant forum of medical and health experts, to investigate it to bring facts to the public,” the spokesperson claimed.

The spokesperson said in response to a question that it would be premature to notify any reinfection in Punjab without getting it investigated and verified from the CEAG. He informed that after the investigation, the department would share details.

Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for all the latest news and updates!