Eight people in Gautam Buddh Nagar were falsely declared as COVID-19 positive by private laboratories, a fact which came to light after their re-examination at government facilities which found them to be negative, officials said on May 29.

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These eight people were discharged from hospitals and notice is being served to the private laboratories regarding these false positive patients , the District Surveillance Officer said.

The number of such labs being served notice and their locations could not be known immediately. Suspected results which are being obtained from private labs are being verified by the National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) or the Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital and Post Graduate Teaching Institute (SSPHPGTI) or the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Dohare, a senior government doctor, said.

The private medical institutions have been directed to follow the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) while selecting patients for testing and testing is to be done compulsorily through ICMR-accredited labs only, he said in a statement. He said the district's Chief Medical Officer has issued directives to the private labs over static as well as mobile sample collection centres for COVID-19 test.

They have been asked to strictly collect mobile samples as per norms and after they are duly verified by the Health Department sampling in-charge, the officer added. This is the first time discrepancy in COVID-19 testing by private labs has been recorded in Gautam Buddh Nagar. Earlier such discrepancies have been reported in states like Delhi, Rajasthan and other Uttar Pradesh districts as well.