Healthy Traveler Mistakenly Sent to Hospital After Quarantine 全台首例 北市某防疫旅館送錯確診者

While numerous cluster infections have been reported at quarantine hotels, Taipei City has reported the first case in Taiwan of sending a healthy hotel guest to the hospital instead of the person who tested positive. The hotel said the two checked in on the same day and have similar room numbers, and promised it will be more careful in the future.
 

At around nine o'clock in the morning, a special screening vehicle was parked at the quarantine hotel. Medical personnel was seen performing screening tests for the hotel guests before their quarantine ends. However, on December 18, a certain Taipei quarantine hotel was suspected of a communication error with the city's health department and the ambulance. A traveler who was admitted to the hospital on the same day as a confirmed COVID-19 case was sent to the hospital. This became Taiwan's first incident of sending the wrong patient to the hospital.

Liu Yi-ting, Commissioner, Dept. of Information and Tourism, Taipei City: “When the ambulance arrived, its personnel didn't confirm the identity of the person they were taking to the hospital. Later, they seemed to have realized they delivered another traveler when they arrived at the hospital. It seems that these two inbound travelers entered the country on the same day and their room number was also similar.”

The DIT stated that it has already conducted an internal review. In the future, a quarantine hotel must check the guest's information before seeking medical treatment or conducting a virus screening.

The new Lunar New Year quarantine program is already being implemented. Many citizens have returned home under the new "7+7+7" quarantine program. A borough chief complained that the central government requires family members living in the same house to have two vaccine doses and separate bathrooms but this is impossible to check.

Han Hsiu-han, Chief, Guangwu Borough, Daan District, Taipei City: “We have no way to check this. We can only tell them verbally not to do these things.”

Huang Li-min, Honorary Chairperson, Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan: “It's possible that there is a virus in the community during the Lunar New Year. Whether the virus will be transmitted depends on each individual's behavior. If everyone behaves carefully and tries to get vaccinated, then the virus is less likely to spread.”

Experts reminded there have been 12 cases of Omicron diagnosed already in Taiwan. Five of them are asymptomatic and are likely to have spread the virus into the community. Therefore, they call on the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible. In case of an unfortunate infection, the vaccine can help reduce severe illness and the risk of death. 

 

上午九點多，就有篩檢專車停在防疫旅館大門，醫護人員忙進忙出進行例行性期滿採檢，不過卻傳出上週末18日，北市某間防疫旅館，疑似與衛生局、救護車溝通有誤，把另一名與確診者同天入住的民眾送到醫院，造成全台首例「送錯確診者」的烏龍。

北市觀傳局長劉奕霆表示:「救護車到場的時候，也沒有再針對於，現場要送過去的民眾，做個身分的確認，後來導致送到醫院的時候，好像發現送到另一名的房客，他們這兩個房客好像是同一天入境，房號上也有點類似啦。」

北市觀傳局表示，已進行內部檢討，未來房客就醫或採檢時，防疫旅館務必要核對房客資訊。

而春節檢疫新制上路，近來陸續有民眾返家進行「7+7+7」居家檢疫，有里長抱怨，中央要求同住家人必須打過2劑疫苗，及獨立衛浴，但根本無法查核。

北市大安區光武里長韓修和說:「這一方面我們是沒有辦法做查核的，我們只能在口頭上告知他，不得做這些事情。」

台灣感染症醫學會名譽理事長黃立民表示:「春節這段時間是有可能，有病毒在社區的，它們會不會傳，就在我們個人的行為啦，如果我們大家行為都非常小心，而且都儘量去打疫苗，那病毒就比較不會傳。」

專家提醒，台灣已出現12例Omicron確診者，其中有5人是無症狀，很可能將病毒到帶到社區傳播，因此呼籲民眾儘快接種疫苗，萬一不幸染疫，也可降低重症及死亡的風險。