Wrong addresses hinder Covid-19 contact tracing

Many who undergo Covid-19 tests give incomplete details and put their lives, and the lives of their near and dear ones, in jeopardy

Officials on pandemic duty are encountering a fresh challenge — people giving wrong information.

The most common gap in data comes in the form of incomplete addresses. “This happens either due to carelessness or because the swab collectors don’t insist on a full address,” says Nandan (name changed), a swab collector.

Some people give wrong addresses deliberately, afraid about what might happen if they tested positive. “We make multiple attempts to call and also send ground teams to whatever address is available,” says Aravind (name changed), a project coordinator.

He says more than 50 per cent of those tested give incomplete or wrong addresses. The BBMP even has a dedicated team to trace them. “If the swab collectors are unable to locate a patient, then the ‘Address Not Traceable’ team takes over. They try to take the help of neighbours and primary contacts,” explains Nandan.

Aravind says that when 24 hours have passed and a peston testing positive remains untraceable, the team passes the case to the police. “Despite all this, 8 to 10 per cent of all cases remain untraced,” he says.

Rajendra Cholan, BBMP Special Commissioner (Health and IT), says officials have been able to trace all patients with incomplete addresses. “Now almost 80 per cent of the testing that’s done is targeted, which means that we already have a prepared list with all the details. Only 20 per cent of the testing is done randomly or on people who request it. This is the only place where things can go wrong,” he explains.

He says the BBMP had earlier experienced difficulty in tracing those testing positive due to wrong phone numbers. “Since last month, we have been using OTPs during testing. This has eliminated the problem completely. Correct phone numbers help when addresses are incomplete,” Cholan says.

Asked whether any legal action was being taken against those providing wrong addresses, he says the numbers are ‘manageable’ at the moment. “If they increase, we can report the matter to the department of health, who can then take appropriate measures,” he says. Nandan says people have to be more sensible. “In multiple cases, individuals were traced by the police, but by then, their health had deteriorated,” says Aravind.

Nandan says there have been cases where a large family or a group from a locality comes for testing and provides just one number. “This can cause a delay in getting a hold of the right person in case a test shows positive,” he says. Another issue is that many low-wage workers do not have phones. “Here their employers give us their numbers, and we trace them through that,” he explains.