Patient tests positive for coronavirus – after being released, Texas officials say

A woman in San Antonio, Texas, tested positive for coronavirus after being released from federal quarantine on Saturday, health officials say.

The woman had been in federally-ordered isolation at a local health facility for several weeks after being evacuated from Wuhan, China, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release.

She hadn’t shown any symptoms and met all the CDC’s criteria for release — two consecutive negatives on coronavirus tests taken more than a day apart, the release said.

After the woman was released, health officials received results of a subsequent test that showed a weak positive, according to the CDC. She has since returned to isolation.

The woman was out in public for just over 12 hours during which time she checked into a Holiday Inn near the airport, San Antonio Express-News reported. She also visited North Star Mall between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. where she spent most of her time eating alone at the food court, officials said.

People she came in contact with at the hotel and mall are considered “low-risk” for contracting the virus, KENS reported.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg called the mistaken release unacceptable.

“The fact that the CDC allowed the public to be exposed to a patient with a positive COVID-19 reading is unacceptable,” he said in the release. “We will hold the CDC accountable to providing complete transparency for the public. This situation is exactly why we have been asking for federal officials to accept the guidance of our medical community.”

The CDC says this isn’t the first time tests have waffled between positive and negative, according to the release, adding that it’s the longest cycle of the virus they’ve seen.

“This is an unfolding situation with many unknowns,” the release said. “CDC is making decisions on a case-by-case basis using the best available science at the time. CDC’s priority is to protect both patients and communities.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 8:01 AM.