Scandal in Chile: Clinic Sold Negative Covid Tests for US$85

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A medical center located in the upscale district of Las Condes, in the capital of Chile, falsified supposedly performed test results in exchange for US$85, particularly for travelers who needed to prove that they were not infected.

Under the name Care Full Home, the laboratory specialized in providing home care services for the elderly. Following the complaint, Regional Health Secretary Paula Labra reported that she had received WhatsApp chats as evidence, in which the facility’s staff offered negative PCR tests within an hour, without the need to take the test that requires a nasal sample.

The same health authority referred the matter to the police and jointly conducted an investigation, where more evidence was found to support the complaint, thereby securing new information from other customers. “It is an attack on public health, particularly under the conditions we find ourselves in the Metropolitan region,” he said.

Labra also announced that judicial relief will be sought, a formal complaint and a sanitary investigation will be opened, both for the clinic and for all clients who bought the negative results. Moreover, a ban on the facility’s operation was decreed and the Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office has already launched a criminal investigation.

The requirement of a document certifying the performance of a PCR test showing a negative result has been a compulsory measure since Thursday, January 7th. Consequently, anyone entering Chile, whether national, resident or foreign, may only board or disembark with a negative PCR test which may be conducted by nasopharyngeal or saliva test, performed by an institution authorized by the Ministry of Health or the health authority of the country of origin. As users’ needs increased due to the growing flow of travel during vacation periods, the non-infection certificates increased in demand.

Las Condes Mayor Joaquin Lavin also visited the location where the complaint was lodged and provided information regarding the denounced institution, noting that there is a company official who has confessed to being solely responsible for what happened. “He says he did it on his own, but that is a matter for the investigation,” said the Mayor. The individual has been identified as he provided his personal bank details in order for the funds charged for the negative PCR certificate to be deposited there.

The Mayor added that the case was uncovered thanks to information provided by a neighbor who asked to be visited at her home, as she needed a PCR test to travel abroad. She was told at the time that this was not necessary and that in one hour she could have the document with the result in hand once she paid 60,000 Chilean pesos.

The municipal authority announced legal action in addition to the Ministry of Health. “This is a serious crime against public health and we as the municipality of Las Condes are going to sue the clinic and the individual,” it noted.

Chile’s Minister of Health Enrique Paris also mentioned the case, assuring that what has happened in Las Condes “is very, very serious. It’s a very serious event, it’s deceiving people. I don’t really know what the purpose is, other than to earn money obviously, but to cause a greater spread of the virus? This calls for a very serious penalty,” he said.