SHILLONG, June 18 - Three more COVID-19 patients have tested negative in Meghalaya in the past 24 hours, reducing the number of active cases in the State to 10.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that two persons from East Khasi Hills district and one from West Jaintia Hills have tested negative. Altogether 31 persons have recovered out of 44 positive cases, and one patient has died.
A PTI report adds: A 72-year-old man was erroneously declared as having tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, which officials have attributed to a mechanical error.
The man, from Umsamlem village in Ri-Bhoi district, was declared a COVID-19 patient on June 9 after his samples tested positive for the infection in an RT-PCR test, an official said.
The patient had complained of respiratory problems and was admitted to a private hospital, he said.
�Following the outcome of the test, we started contract tracing but none of his contacts tested positive for COVID-19. This made us curious and RT-PCR and rapid antibody tests were subsequently conducted on him. This time, the results returned negative for the infection,� State Health Services Director Aman War said.
More tests were conducted on the man and all the results have returned negative for COVID-19, he said.
Officials of the State Health Department and the response team met on Tuesday night and concluded he was a �false COVID-19 positive� case, War said.
�The RT-PCR machines are 99 per cent accurate. The case of this man falls in remaining one per cent category where a machine can give inaccurate results,� War said.
