72-year-old man erroneously declared COVID-19 positive in Meghalaya

Shillong, Jun 18 () A 72-year-old man was erroneously declared as having tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, which officials have attributed to a mechanical error.

The man, from Umsamlem village in Ri-Bhoi district, was declared a COVID-19 patient on June 9 after his samples tested positive for the infection in an RT-PCR test, an official said.

The patient had complained of respiratory problems and was admitted to a private hospital, he said.

"Following the outcome of the test, we started contract tracing but none of his contacts tested positive for COVID-19.

"This made us curious and RT-PCR and rapid antibody tests were subsequently conducted on him. This time, the results returned negative for the infection," state Health Services Director Aman War told .

More tests were conducted on the man and all the results have returned negative for COVID-19, he said.

Officials of the state health department and the response team met on Tuesday night and concluded he was a "false COVID-19 positive" case, War said.

"The RT-PCR machines are 99 per cent accurate. The case of this man falls in remaining one per cent category where a machine can give inaccurate results," War said.

The patient, however, is still admitted to the hospital for treatment of his other ailments. JOP SBN ACD ABH ABH