Bengaluru: Case registered against lab technician, ASHA worker for issuing fake COVID-19 certificates

Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Tuesday suspended a lab technician and an ASHA worker for allegedly issuing false COVID-19 negative reports at a hospital in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday that the state government has registered a criminal case against a lab technician and ASHA worker, who were involved in the COVID-19 testing irregularities at a private hospital.

Speaking to reporters, Sudhakar said that false-negative COVID-19 reports at the Pobbathi Maternity Hospital came to his notice through media reports.

Sudhakar stated that a team consisting of joint commissioner and health officers was sent to the hospital for inspection and added that an FIR was registered against them immediately.

The Minister further claimed that a strict regulation will be introduced to rectify the loopholes in BBMP and make sure such incidents are not repeated in the future.

Sudhakar claimed that as a doctor, the incident has brought him immense pain. "It is dishonorable to the medical profession to make money through such immoral ways" he stated.

Meanwhile, Karnataka recorded 3,681 new COVID-19 positive cases on Tuesday. Of these, 1874 new cases and 7740 discharges were reported from Bengaluru alone.

However, the COVID-19 positivity rate has increased to 5.53% in the state. The state also witnessed a drop in COVID-19 tests.