Health workers conduct Covid-19 rapid diagnostic tests. (Photo by Mohamad Hamzah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
- A Bloemfontein police clerk is distraught after reportedly receiving someone else’s positive Covid-19 results.
- Olga Boom says her 12-year-old son was teased about her “positive” result and her family was placed in isolation.
- It was unclear how the results were mixed up.
A police clerk is distraught after reportedly receiving someone else’s positive Covid-19 results, leading to her workplace being shut down and her family being placed in isolation.
Netwerk24 reported that Olga Boom, 50, an administrative clerk at the Batho police station in Bloemfontein, has been cleared of the virus after it was found that her results were swopped with those of someone from Dewetsdorp.
As a result, the Batho police station was closed from 20 May for decontamination, The Citizen reported. The station temporarily operated from the local community hall during the closure, but has since been reopened.
Boom was reportedly tested for the virus ahead of a knee operation and had already been admitted to hospital when she was informed that she had tested positive.
She reportedly said she was distraught and prepared herself for “the worst” before being informed some days later that the results had been swopped and she would be tested again. She then tested negative.
It was unclear how the results were mixed up.
Boom told Netwerk24 her 12-year-old son was teased about her “positive” result and her family was placed in isolation, leading to her sisters having to close their businesses. “My reputation is ruined,” she reportedly said, stating that “no one” has rectified the situation.
Free State health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi told News24 on Friday this was a sensitive issue and he would comment once he had consulted with the MEC. News24 could not reach Mvambi for comment on Monday morning.
The South African Police Service does not identify police members who test positive, Netwerk24 reported.
To date, the Free State has recorded 278 cases of Covid-19, leading to eight deaths, according to Health24.
– Compiled by Riaan Grobler
