Srinagar: As the government continues to scale up Covid-19 testing in Jammu and Kashmir, around 22 students who returned from Chandigarh 10 days ago are awaiting reports of their samples.

Most of these students belong to Kupwara district and have been put in a quarantine centre at Lal Chowk, Srinagar.

They are making distressing calls to their families and officials to help them get the Covid-19 tests expedited as they spent ten days in the centre.

“We desperately want to go home as we have already suffered while staying outside during the lockdown,” one of the students told Kashmir Reader.

“We feel helpless and hopeless as no one from the government is telling us about the test reports,” he said.

Another student who returned from Mohali in Chandigarh said a team of health workers had taken their samples last Sunday but reports are yet to come.

“I think they have misplaced our samples otherwise Covid-19 reports usually come within 24 hours,” he said.

According to him, many travellers including labourers who were travelling with them from Chandigarh have been sent home already after their reports came negative.

“Some of them came to the quarantine centre after our arrival but they are home now,” he said.

Thousands of students and workers are returning to their native places after directions by the Ministry of Home Affairs and a good number among them have arrived in Kashmir during the last few weeks.
Dr Tassaduq, the epidemiologist who is the nodal officer said he will look into the issue as to why there was a delay in testing.

“I will ask the sampling team to get the testing done immediately if they are yet to complete it,” he said.

Manzoor ul-Hassan