After the first case of the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 was reported on 26 June in Bikaner, the Rajasthan government added a new column in its daily COVID bulletin within 2 days. The said column, 'Address Not Known', features the individuals who have tested positive but their details, such as name, address and phone number are false. As per reports, one patient each was added to this new column on 28 and 29 June, however, the reason for sharing false information hasn't been conclusively known yet.
Every day, the State Health Department releases a health bulletin specifically for Jaipur and also for the entire state. In the Jaipur health bulletin, the total number of patients in each colony is mentioned but the data is not complete as many individuals are getting tested under false information. Such individuals are being placed in the 'Address Not Known' column and on Wednesday, two more names were added under it.
Officials are still trying to assess why patients are opting to not give their correct name, phone number and address. Some have pointed out that this approach may have been taken because of the fear of the Delta Plus variant or the threat of getting isolated by the community.
In this regard, reports quote a senior official saying- "We tried calling on the numbers submitted during testing to reach out to those who test positive, but their addresses could not be known. However, all such patients are sooner or later traced with the combined efforts of the medical teams."
-With inputs from IANS
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