Residents of large outbreak regions suffer as Municipal Corporation of Gurugram wrongly pastes home-isolation stickers

In some of the large outbreak regions (LORs) of the city, where rapid antigen testing camps are being organised by the district health department and the Municipal

In some of the large outbreak regions (LORs) of the city, where rapid antigen testing camps are being organised by the district health department and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), several residents have complained of incorrect home isolation stickers being pasted outside their homes despite them testing negative for Covid-19 or not visiting the camp at all.

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On June 26, Amit Khatri, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, announced that eight municipal wards in the city have been identified as LORs, which have more than 60% of the total case load of the city. Since then, the district administration has severely restricted the movement of residents and vehicles in these areas and has been conducting rapid antigen testing camps to identify the spread of Covid-19.

Currently, the LORs in the city include areas such as Dundahera Police Station Road, sectors 14, 15 and 21, Bhim Nagar, Sukhrali, Arjun Nagar, Jyoti Park, Madan Puri, Shiv Puri, Baldev Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Hari Nagar, Shanti Nagar, Nathupur, among others. Restrictions in these areas will continue till July 14, after which a decision regarding their extension will be taken.

Earlier in April, HT reported that several Gurugram residents had complained that the civic body had mistakenly put up home-quarantine stickers despite their names being absent on the list of people who are supposed to be quarantined.

Sector 14

Last week, two residents of Sector 14, who are neighbours, went to get themselves tested at a local antigen testing camp. While one of them returned home with testing negative and the other tested positive for Covid-19.

The next day, however, they alleged that MCG workers arrived at their doorstep and pasted home-isolation stickers outside both of their homes, stating that not just they but even some of their family members have tested positive for Covid-19. They alleged that many of their family members, who were identified as being positive by MCG, have not even visited the camp. The residents said the misleading stickers led to a massive confusion in the neighbourhood.

“As a member of the local residents’ welfare association (RWA), I was helping with the arrangement of the camp. As a precautionary measure, I got myself tested. The result came out negative. Despite this, I found that the MCG had pasted a sticker declaring that I, along with six other members of my family, had tested positive for the virus. It created a lot of confusion among the residents of the neighbourhood. It was only after I complained to the district administration, the Gurugram Police, and MCG, that the matter was resolved,” said Sanjeev Aggarwal, a resident of Sector 14.

Aggarwal’s neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said that although he alone had tested positive for the virus, the MCG declared three other members of his family to be positive as well.

“My result came back positive during testing. My wife and two kids, who also got themselves tested at the camp, were found to be negative. The following day, the MCG had pasted a sticker, declaring all four of us to be positive. I only informed the local RWA but did not press the matter beyond a point as I did not want to draw attention to the fact that I have tested positive. None of my relatives are aware of my positive result and, due to the social stigma attached to the disease, I am not pushing the matter further,” said Aggarwal’s neighbour.

Nathupur

In Nathupur village, a similar incident took place, when a local resident tested positive. The civic body mistakenly pasted a home-isolation sticker outside the home of another person, who shared the same name but had not visited the camp at all.

“It was when I received calls from my neighbours asking about my well-being that I realised something was amiss. The MCG had pasted a home-isolation sticker outside my house and declared that I had tested positive for the virus, despite the fact that I had not visited the camp at all. I immediately informed the locals and MCG officials, who were carrying out the tests about the error. They informed me that the sticker was meant for another person bearing the same name and attributed the mistake to a clerical error,” said the Nathupur resident, who wished to remain anonymous.

Health department reacts

When asked about these alleged clerical errors, MCG officials said they get data from the district health department based on which they paste stickers outside the residences of those who test positive for the virus at the rapid antigen testing camps. “We have been receiving some complaints about incorrect stickers being pasted. We have rectified our mistakes after cross-checking with the district health department. We get the data from the district health department and simply paste the stickers outside people’s home. We are only assisting the health department for organising these camps. They (the district health department) have a greater role to play in this initiative,” said an official in MCG’s health branch, who is privy to the matter.

“During large-scale testing, a few inaccuracies are bound to occur. Regardless, wherever complaints of incorrect stickers have been made by residents, we have either removed them or put them up at the correct address with the proper details,” said Dr Virendra Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), Gurugram.