Malappuram: The four-month-old baby who breathed her last at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode on April 24, did not die of COVID-19, her parents have said.
The child had pneumonia and heart problems and she died because she did not get proper treatment, father Mohammed Ashraf and mother Ashifa of Payyanad, in Manjeri, have alleged.
According to them, the baby was said to be COVID-19 positive because of a testing error. While her first sample was said to be COVID-19 positive, a subsequent test and another done after her death were negative, they said.
Officials have not been able to ascertain from where she could have contracted the viral infection, they said. Neither the mother nor any of her close relatives tested positive. The samples of 33 relatives were tested, but none of them was positive, the parents said.
When the first sample of the baby that was said to be COVID-19 positive was tested at the Alappuzha virology lab, the result was negative, Ashraf said. An investigation by the family members indicated that there is an attempt to conceal the mistake, he said.
The health department has not responded to their requests for the baby’s test results, they said, and demanded a thorough investigation into the death.
The baby was admitted to the medical college on April 21. On April 22, she was said to be COVID-19 positive. She died on April 24.
Kerala has reported seven deaths due to COVID-19 including the baby's.
