“In association with Walgreens, 2,791 samples were collected for processing through the Delaware Public Health Laboratory in the first week of testing. In the process of delivering results, 12 people who tested positive for COVID-19 inadvertently received Negative phone results due to internal DPH system error, “said a statement from the health department.
The department said correct test results were reported in its surveillance system and included in state test numbers and the state’s contact locator system. The department said it wants to assure the public that this was not an on-site error at Walgreens test sites.
Delaware resident Kevin Evans was among 12 people who received false negative results and is currently hospitalized, Pettyjohn told CNN.
Pettyjohn said tests through the state public health laboratory began early last week and that Evans had the test done last Friday and obtained the incorrect results on Tuesday.
Evans’ relatives were told they were negative, says his wife
Katey Evans, Kevin’s wife, said in a video posted on Facebook that her husband started feeling ill on July 13. She and her husband thought that her symptoms may be due to Lyme disease due to ticks on her body and a doctor initially prescribed “a very aggressive round of antibiotics disorder.” The family was finally tested for Covid-19 after one of their three daughters was sent home from summer camp with a fever and tested positive.
Katey Evans said in her video that all of her family members received negative results on Tuesday, including the daughter who initially tested positive, leading her to believe that her daughter’s first test was a false positive. However, she said that her husband still felt sick. On Thursday morning, around 2 am, Katey Evans said, she woke up vomiting.
“He was really dehydrated in the middle of the night. He was very dizzy. He was unconscious. At 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, I said, ‘I think you need to go to the hospital,'” he recalled.
Kevin Evans was finally taken to the local hospital by ambulance early Thursday morning. Katey Evans said in the video that they did not initially let her in. While sitting inside her car, she said, she received a call from the hospital saying her Covid-19 results were really positive.
Pettyjohn told CNN on Friday that the hospital had access to test data from the state health department and saw the true positive result of the test that was incorrectly transmitted to Kevin by phone. Katey Evans said in her video that when she spoke to representatives from the Delaware health department, she finally received confirmation that confusion caused the error and the results were read incorrectly.
“It is not about reading it as something. It is in black and white. Is it positive or negative? It is not about how we interpret these results. They are in black and white on paper: what is right and what is wrong.” Because my husband is lying in the hospital and is almost to the point of not responding right now. And are you telling me that is how you interpreted it? That is not acceptable, “said Katey Evans through tears.
When contacted for further comment, she referred CNN to a second video statement where she again shared the story of her husband’s ordeal, but also asked for privacy.
“I ask [the media] respect our privacy so that I can focus on taking care of my husband in the hospital, hoping that he can come home soon, “she said.
After another review, the state says the 12 people were contacted
Katey Evans says she contacted Pettyjohn when she found out about the error, and then raised the issue with the department. Pettyjohn said department representatives said they would manually audit the other samples taken where the Evans were analyzed.
Pettyjohn said that, to the best of his knowledge, Kevin Evans is the only person to have been hospitalized after receiving an incorrect test result.
The state said in its statement that the 12 people who obtained false negative results were notified. He said that after reviewing the 2,791 samples in question, it was determined that no patient who tested negative was given incorrect results.
Katey Evans said in her first Facebook video that she eventually found out that her daughter, who initially had a positive test result, and then a negative test result together with her family, was confirmed to be truly Covid-19 positive. . Her daughter was also among the 12 people given incorrect test results, but she’s fine and doesn’t show any symptoms, Katey Evans said in her second Facebook video.
The health department also said the internal system error that led to the delivery of false results has been fixed.
“The problem was identified and internal system enhancements have eliminated the possibility of this recurring. Additionally, DPH continues to work with its provider to establish automated delivery of results,” its statement said.
As for her husband’s condition, Katey Evans posted on Facebook on Friday that her “voice sounded louder this morning” and that she was “mentally more alert.”
“They’ve been analyzing every possible infection in the sun and keeping a close eye on it. I’m glad you’re aware of all this. Oxygen levels are excellent and you’re sitting upright and continuing to move when you can. Sounds 10% better every time you I talk to him, which is amazing, “he wrote.
Katey Evans said she had a civic duty to speak.
“Someone must be held responsible for this,” said Katey. “We let our guard down because we were told it was negative.”
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