Pay Rs 2,500 and get a Covid-19 'negative' report: Uttar Pradesh private hospital

A private hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, about 500 kilometres from Lucknow, was caught issuing fake Covid-19 negative reports for Rs 2,500.

The license of the hospital was cancelled and an FIR was also registered against its manager, according to the police sources here on Monday.

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The matter came to light when a video showing a hospital staff assuring a person a 'negative' Covid-19 test report duly issued by the district hospital in Meerut.

The hospital staff was also seen accepting Rs 2,500 from the person in exchange for the 'negative' report. ''The report will have stamp of the district hospital....you can show it anywhere...it will be valid for seven days,'' the hospital staff, who was addressed as a 'doctor', said via video that was shared on social media.

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He also said that there was no need to bring the patient. ''If you bring the patient and a genuine test is conducted then the report may also be positive....what will happen then?'' he asked in the video.

District officials said that the license of the hospital, which was situated on Hapur Road, was cancelled and an FIR was also lodged against its manager. The hospital would also be sealed, the officials added.

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Sources said that the hospital might have given out scores of fake negative Covid-19 reports. ''We are trying to ascertain how many people have been given such fake report....it is a very serious issue,'' said a senior official in Merrut.

So far over 1,100 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Meerut.