LAHORE: The case of a woman, of Gulberg, Lahore, who was earlier declared a confirmed case of coronavirus triggered ‘controversy’ after she was tested negative as per her third lab report issued on Thursday night.

She was shifted to the Mayo Hospital Lahore after a lab report declared a coronavirus case on Wednesday.

The close relative of a senior politician of Gulberg, the woman caused worries among health authorities after reports that she had organized two ceremonies – one at home and another at a known restaurant on MM Alam Road - despite being a coronavirus case.At home, he said, more than 50 people, mostly her relatives, attended the function.

He said several health teams were immediately dispatched to her house and the restaurant along with the local police for surveillance and investigation.

The official said that the Mayo Hospital doctors sent her samples to the lab of the primary and secondary healthcare department on Thursday morning for re-confirmation.

Interestingly, the report declared that she was not patient of the coronavirus.

On finding differences between the reports of a private and a government laboratory, the health authorities joined heads to tackle the situation.

Finally, they decided to get the woman tested through a different methodology.

The official said the samples were dispatched third time to the lab of the health department and the reports issued on Thursday again confirmed that she was not a coronavirus case.

He said that though two reports of the government lab cleared the woman, the health experts proposed to send her samples for a fourth time to another famous private lab of the city.

About the people who were in her contact, the official said that the health teams had immediately quarantined her family members at her Gulberg residence. They, however, tested negative.

He said they also traced many of those who had attended the function at the women’s residence and the restaurant and sent their samples to the laboratories for analysis.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2020