LAST month, one of my family members tested positive for Covid-19. The lab noted all identification details from the CNIC of the patient and forwarded them to the Punjab Health Department, which, the very next day, sent its own lab attendants to our house to test the entire family and a few other individuals who had been in close contact with us. As per government notification, they tested us free of cost and took all the relevant identification details and promised to text back the results within a week.

While the whole family went into isolation as a precautionary step, our wait for the results never ended. We were left with no choice but to have ourselves tested again through a private laboratory.

Although the government’s efforts to control the coronavirus have been anything but laudable, I found the episode quite distressing. It only added to our anxiety as we patiently waited for the results that never arrived.

Fatima Attique

Lahore

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2021