CDC Screw-Up: San Antonio Woman Released From Quarantine Tests Positive for COVID-19 Now

According to San Antonio officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a woman from quarantine in Texas who tested positive for COVID-19. She was one of those individuals who was evacuated from Wuhan and placed in a 14-day quarantine at Joint Base San Antonio –Lackland.

San Antonio Mayor Ran Nirenberg declared a public health emergency after the released woman tested positive for coronavirus, CNBC reported.

The CDC had tested her twice for COVID-19 before releasing her from quarantine. But they happened to find out that she tested positive for COVID-19 after another test had pointed out a weakly positive confirmation.

Unfortunately, after the person’s release, the CDC received the results of another test that showed a weakly positive confirmation of the virus that causes COVID-19,” CNBC quoted Nirenberg. “As mayor of this city, I find it totally unacceptable that CDC would release a patient prior to receiving all test results and potentially expose the public to this harm,” he added.

Post her release from quarantine Saturday, she visited the Holiday Inn Express Airport and the North Star Mall where she browsed through the stores including Swarovski, Talbot’s and Dillard’s and ate at the food court.

Upon finding her results, she was then transported to the Texas Center for Infectious Disease. And the local officials have been tracking 16 individuals from the mall and three at the hotel who are suspected to have come into contact with this woman. The experts at the city health department have also urged people to make deep cleanings using disinfectants to both the hotel and the mall this woman had visited.

“We simply cannot have a screw-up like this from our federal partners,” said the mayor. “While the CDC is encouraging everyone to wash their hands and prevent the spread of the virus, as we would during the season, I would encourage the federal administration to not wash its hands of the responsibility to protect the public.”

After this incident, the local officials have requested for the third round of testing before declaring a person clear and releasing them from quarantine. They want to ensure that nobody else gets released until there is enough assurance that they are not infected by the virus.