In one of the shocking incident connected with the Covid-19 safety measures have raised a question mark on the reliability and safety of the ink used for stamping the hands of the people who are sent to home quarantine. Although the government claims that they are using the safe and good quality ink, the recent complaint of the burns on the hand by a lady returning to Goa from Mumbai has raised doubts on the safety measures taken by the state government while dealing with the pandemic situation.
As the Covid cases are rising in the state the concerned authorise are taking all the necessary steps to control the virus from spreading in this tiny state. All the officers and doctors are working tirelessly to make sure that regular checks have been done on the people coming from the outside states.
The process of stamping the hands is to make sure that the person with the quarantine stamps on their hands do not come out of the house and mix with the others to avoid the community spreading of the virus, but the recent case of a lady complaining about the skin burns due to the Covid quarantine stamp has raised a concerns over the quality of ink used by the government.
According to the reports, A woman returning to Goa from Mumbai had complained of burning sensation after she was stamped at the Patradevi check post, but the officials posted there had played down her concerns and asked her to apply sanitiser to subside the pain.
According to the sources, this is not the first time that someone had complained about the skin irritation after being stamped on the hands at the Goa border but the officials had assured of changing an ink in the past, but despite that, the new case has been surfaced.
“Days after Goa government officials claimed that the quarantine stamp ink that was being used by authorities at the Patradevi check post in Goa has been changed, fresh reports of skin burn from the chemical has surfaced,” stated the report.
Raybelle Louella Dias, a 26-year-old HR professional, who had returned back to Goa from Mumbai on May 21 by road, has also complained of skin burns and severe allergic reactions from the ink that was used.
According to the sources, at around 7.30 pm on May 21, Raybelle was stamped twice – one to declare the date and time and the other sending her to the quarantine centre. The woman’s skin started burning and she complained to the police personnel stationed at the kiosk at Patradevi check post immediately.
“One policeman asked me to apply sanitiser on it and the health officials sitting at the stamp desk said the stinging sensation will subside in some time,” Dias told the reporter. However, when she reached Calangute Residency – the quarantine centre where she was lodged for 24 hours till her coronavirus test results arrived — the pain grew sharper and the skin started blistering.
By May 22, puss and boils had started forming on the burnt area on the back of her hand. Fearing an infection, Dias visited the doctor in-charge of her quarantine centre, who prescribed some tablets. But the best is yet to come, according to the reports when the health officers went to her residence on 26th May to paste the quarantine sticker on her door she informed them about her condition to which they replied saying that “apply Lacto Calamine”.
“When I enquired about the person concerned to whom I can officially complain about this, they (the health officials) did not respond. They only told me that such complaints are very common; several other persons have got burns and blisters from the quarantine stamp ink,” she added.
Meanwhile the health officials are claiming that they are using the basic rubber stamp ink but they are unaware of the situation at the Goa border. “I am surprised too. Usually, basic rubber stamp ink is used. I do not know much about the quality of ink being used at the check post; maybe they are using some other kind of ink.”
The health office also confirmed that more such cases had been reported in the past and they have been given instructions to change the ink. “Last month also several complaints about the ink burning people’s skin had surfaced. I doubt if they have changed their ink since. We keep receiving complaints even now, but I am not sure if the information has been relayed to the officials manning the Patradevi check post,” he added.
Notably, the incident comes two weeks after an Indian Express report dated May 7 had quoted government officials as confirming that the health officials have changed the ink that gave allergic reactions to those stamped on the Goa border.
