The glaring loophole in U.S. virus response: Human error

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Even as the Trump administration and Congress prepare to direct billions of dollars to coronavirus prevention, human error remains a formidable threat to preventing the spread of the virus.

Mistakes already abound as federal, state and local public health departments scramble to prepare for outbreaks in the United States — or detect those that may already have begun.

Flaws in a test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coupled with initial federal rules limiting who should be tested, delayed the ability to diagnose patients. A hospitalized patient in California wasn’t initially tested for the virus for days, potentially leaving health care workers exposed. A whistleblower has alleged health workers weren’t properly protected when they met flights carrying American evacuees back from China.

A recent cluster of cases at a long-term care facility in Washington state — where six people have tested positive so far and one person has died — shows that those types of mistakes could already have allowed the virus to outpace the attempts to stop it.

Past epidemics show just how quickly human error can lead to disaster. During the Ebola outbreak in 2014, a Dallas emergency room failed to recognize an Ebola case — nearly creating a national emergency.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-glaring-loophole-in-us-virus-response-human-error/ar-BB10CBWG?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=mailsignout