BMD

It is a matter of shame for the nation as a whole that some private hospitals and labs have still been involved in an illicit and irresponsible act of issuing fake PCR test negative reports to foreign job aspirants. They seem to have gone for such an unethical business practice only to make a quick buck. As COVID-19 is more transmissible than other viral diseases, countries around the world have, since the beginning, made it mandatory for all air travellers to produce a PCR negative report while flying overseas. PCR tests are regarded as the most accurate ones available.

This obligatory document is aimed at preventing the potential spread of the disease. And it may have contributed much to a massive reduction in the number of COVID-19 infections globally. With the enforcement of this rule, countries have intended to ensure that the passengers do not carry the fatal viral disease with them to the cities they are visiting. This also prevents their fellow travellers from getting infected. Thus, the rule is becoming instrumental in the deterrence of this global public health crisis.

However, the deadliest pandemic of this century has so far infected almost 400 million people and taken the lives of well over 5.7 million since its emergence more than two years ago. The latest COVID variant—Omicron—has caused an unprecedented number of infections in no time.
But some health institutions seem to have been motivated towards making money by any means, forgetting their main responsibility of saving the lives of people from this contagion. It is a mockery of the rule and gravity of public health in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who have looked for a racket involved in issuing bogus PCR negative reports are also responsible for the rise of this anomaly.

As per media reports, the police personnel deployed by the Metropolitan Crime Control Division last week found several persons working with two hospitals based in the Kathmandu Valley to be involved in such an unlawful activity. Five of them have already been arrested. More others are suspected to have directly or indirectly indulged with the crime. Lab managers of both the hospitals have been at large. The police team found the charlatans to have issued each of the forged PCR negative reports by taking more than Rs. 10,000. This amount is much higher than the rates set by the government.

The police team has also confiscated fake PCR reports, computers and logbooks from the labs. The hospital employees are suspected to have been doing this illegal business with the consent of middlemen and hospital managements. Meanwhile, the police administration has also initiated an investigation to find whether the hospital managements are involved in the scam.

About 10 months back, officials at the Tribhuvan International Airport had to stop some 122 passengers from flying abroad for their false PCR negative reports. Earlier during the first wave of the pandemic, several Nepali passengers flying by Nepal Airlines had produced artificial PCR negative reports in Hong Kong.

Then, the Hong Kong authorities had suspended the flights of Nepal Airlines for some weeks. That was really a humiliating situation. As the issue of such reports still persists, the country may continue to lose her image internationally. So, the government must deal with this problem once and for all.