Laws being made is one thing, laws being implemented is another with Covid safety protocols being a glaring example. Those aware of the systemic gaps also know quite well that just because it's mandatory to produce an RT-PCR test report, doesn't necessarily translate into Covid-safety. From forged lab reports to hotel's complicity in forgoing reports, several deplorable cases have come to the fore recently.
Even as a probe has been ordered over allegations of one lakh fake Covid test reports by private labs during the Kumbh mela, another first person account on social media points ti a similar experience.
"My friend runs a hotel in Uttarakhand and so this is a first-hand story of how Delhiites rampantly lie and cheat about COVID safety precautions. The state has made mandatory PCR testing and being extra careful, the hotel would place a call to the lab to corroborate the test report. From big family entourages who photo-shopped their reports, to just regular families, the hotel saw a whole lot of their guests producing fake credentials. As they need fresh certificates every 72 hours, some guests arrived at the hotel to find their fake certificates busted," shares user Sunetra Choudhury on Twitter.
When laws are flouted
While warning the people about Covid safety, the thread further continues, "When these people were caught, they even objected that their deposit being deducted even though they wouldn't be allowed in the hotel. They were politely reminded that they were lucky they weren't being reported to the police."
While the lab they forged has decided to initiate police action, the bigger picture and bigger question still remain unaddressed. It is the reluctance to not follow Covid norms that's taking the virus to remote villages and nooks and corners of the country. "The point of this thread is that if you are making a weekend escape and you think you are safe because everyone's tested, according to the rules, don't be too sure."
Of the 4 lakh Covid test reports issued during the Kumbh mela, at least one lakh of them have been reported to be forged by a private agency.
AIIMS Delhi director warns against the third wave
How rampant are fake reports and if true, how often do they get reported? As the AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria warns against the third wave and says it is inevitable, it's urgent to devise methods of implementation. Shares another user from a verified account, "I carried genuine RT-PCR negative reports. No one asked me at the airports. It was mandatory on paper."
What is the way out for now
Many conscientious hotels, home stays and properties corroborate the hard copies of test reports with the pathological lab they have been issued from. Alternatively, many of them have started asking for the links sent on the mobile numbers of the test reports as links are hard to forge.
