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Labeling Error to Blame for Hospital’s Release of Coronavirus Patient Labeling Error to Blame for Hospital’s Release of Coronavirus Patient
(about 2 hours later)
A person sick with coronavirus was released from a San Diego hospital this week after a labeling error led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to incorrectly indicate that the person did not have the virus, federal authorities said on Tuesday. A person sick from the coronavirus was released from a San Diego hospital this week after a labeling error on samples to be tested for the virus led officials to incorrectly indicate that the person was not infected, federal authorities said on Tuesday.
The patient, who was among hundreds recently evacuated to the United States from China and under quarantine at a military base, was wrongly discharged from the hospital and sent back to the military base because of the error, a statement from the C.D.C. indicated. The samples had not yet been tested when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mistakenly told officials at the hospital that the results were negative.
The patient was among three quarantined evacuees at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego whose samples were mislabeled and went untested, Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the C.D.C., said in a statement. It was uncertain how the labeling error was made and which agency was responsible, and C.D.C. officials did not immediately answer questions about who had mislabeled the specimens or how. The patient, who was among hundreds recently evacuated to the United States from China and under quarantine at a military base, was erroneously discharged from the hospital and sent back to the base because of the error, a statement from the C.D.C. indicated.
The three patients were among about 850 people, most of them Americans, who have been evacuated to the United States from Wuhan, the epicenter of the crisis. They were experiencing symptoms of illness and were taken to the hospital, University of California San Diego Health, not long after they arrived in the United States last week. After tests were believed to be completed, the three — who were thought to be clear of the virus — were being returned to the base to complete a 14-day quarantine period with scores of others. The patient was among three quarantined evacuees at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego whose samples, likely oral or nasal swabs, lacked information and went untested, said Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the C.D.C. It was unclear how the labeling error had been made and which agency had been responsible. A spokeswoman for the hospital, the University of California San Diego Heath, said there had been miscommunication over how to identify patients under evaluation.
But as the three people, wearing masks, were being driven in a van back to the military base from the hospital on Sunday, the error was discovered. Their specimens, officials realized, had never been analyzed, said Thomas Skinner, a C.D.C. spokesman who is on the base. The coronavirus epidemic has left more than a thousand people dead in China and has sickened tens of thousands of others. As the crisis continued to unfold, about 850 people, most of them Americans, have been evacuated from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began, to five military bases in the United States.
Updated Feb.11, 2020Updated Feb.11, 2020
Rather than returning the three to the hospital, health officials decided to proceed on to the base, urging the three people to isolate themselves in their rooms until their actual results came back, Mr. Skinner said. With a rare federal quarantine mandated for people arriving from Wuhan, the labeling error raised concerns among some who were being kept at with the coronavirus patient at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and prompted the authorities to announce new procedures to avoid testing mistakes.
On Monday morning, the tests came back. One of the three people — unidentified by the authorities — was positive for the virus, and was rushed back to the hospital, Mr. Skinner said. The person was being treated there, and officials on Tuesday said that the person was doing well and had minimal symptoms. “It caused quite a commotion on the base,” said John McGory, who had taught English in Wuhan for six years and is among about 230 people being held on the San Diego base. Officials told people who are under quarantine there that the person who received a delayed coronavirus diagnosis was a woman.
Mr. Skinner said the infected person had been on the military base, isolated in a room, for about 16 to 18 hours. Health officials were working to determine who the patient had interacted with during that period, he said. “The question we all have is, this lady comes back to the base; does that mean we have to start the 14 days again?” Mr. McGory said, referring to the required two-week quarantine period.
As word of the illness — and the testing error — became known among others in quarantine on the base, some said they were concerned. At least one man, who declined to be identified by name, said he had questions about whether enough people were being tested, whether common areas were being disinfected, and whether health officials were being transparent enough with those under quarantine. He and others learned of the mistake from news reports before they were told by staff members on the base, he said. That angered some who took their frustration out on C.D.C. officials during a meeting on the base on Monday night, he said.
Ms. Nordlund said that C.D.C. laboratory staff members would now take part in field teams working to prevent such errors. The episode began last week when three people who had been quarantined at the San Diego base showed symptoms of illness and were taken to the hospital not long after they arrived in the United States.
Thinking that tests had been completed and that the three were clear of the virus, the hospital sent them back to the base to complete the 14-day quarantine period with scores of others.
The error was discovered as the three people, wearing masks, were being driven in a van back to the base from the hospital on Sunday. Their specimens, officials realized, had never been analyzed, said Thomas Skinner, a C.D.C. spokesman who is on the base.
Rather than return the three to the hospital, health officials decided to proceed to the base, urging the patients to isolate themselves in their rooms until the test results came back, Mr. Skinner said.
The results came back on Monday morning. One of the three people — unidentified by the authorities — was positive for the virus and was rushed back to the hospital, Mr. Skinner said. The person was being treated there and was doing well, with minimal symptoms, hospital officials said on Tuesday.
Mr. Skinner said the infected person had been isolated in a room on the base for about 16 to 18 hours. Health officials were working to determine whom the patient had interacted with during that period, he said.
As word of the illness — and the testing error — spread among others in quarantine on the base, some said they were concerned. At least one man, who declined to be identified by name, said he had questions about whether enough people were being tested, whether common areas were being disinfected and whether health officials were being transparent enough with those under quarantine.
Ms. Nordlund said that C.D.C. laboratory staff members were working to prevent such errors.
Another person under quarantine was also being tested at the San Diego hospital on Monday, officials said.Another person under quarantine was also being tested at the San Diego hospital on Monday, officials said.
Since Jan. 29, the United States has evacuated about 850 people, most of them Americans, on five charter flights out of Wuhan. They are being quarantined on five military bases in Nebraska, Texas and California. Local health officials in Riverside County, Calif., said on Tuesday that 195 people from the first government evacuation flight, which left Wuhan on Jan. 29, were to be released from quarantine at March Air Reserve Base. All were found to be free of the virus during two weeks in quarantine on the California base. Since Jan. 29, the United States has evacuated hundreds of people, most of them Americans, on five charter flights out of Wuhan. They are being quarantined on bases in Nebraska, Texas and California. Local health officials in Riverside County, Calif., said on Tuesday that 195 people from the first government evacuation flight, which left Wuhan on Jan. 29, were to be released from quarantine at March Air Reserve Base by Wednesday. All were found to be free of the virus during two weeks in quarantine on the California base.
Miriam Jordan and Amy Qin contributed reporting. Denise Grady, Miriam Jordan and Amy Qin contributed reporting.