How a GP missed diagnosing Melbourne coronavirus patient
A Victorian man who was cleared of having coronavirus before his doctor later discovered he was infected ate at a popular Melbourne restaurant believing his test had come back negative.
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A doctor mistakenly told a Victorian man with coronavirus he had been cleared before the patient ate at a popular southeastern suburb’s restaurant.
The Herald Sun understands the man, aged in his 60s, went to a GP for a saliva test on January 24 and was told on Australia Day that the test had come back negative.
He ate at the House of Delight in Glen Waverley that night. But it is believed that due to a delay over the long weekend, the GP wrongly assumed the results were negative without having received them.
A Department of Health spokesman said the patient and his treating doctor were immediately contacted when the positive results were eventually confirmed on January 28.
“GPs are on the frontline when it comes to detecting novel coronavirus in the community and we’re continuing to provide them with updates and the latest advice to ensure they are aware of the symptoms and travel history to look for, as well as the testing process and how to report cases,” the spokesman said.
Several diners who ate at the Glen Waverley restaurant, popular for its hot pots, called hotlines after the confirmed case was announced last week. None have required testing.
The patient is thought to have explained the blunder in a message shared on social media, saying the GP had advised he could “end the self-isolation”. “I was very happy and reported the good news to some friends,” he said, before asking people to “please forgive me”.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos encouraged all GPs to “stay on top of the latest health alerts from the Chief Health Officer to ensure they are providing the correct advice to patients”.
The global death toll from the epidemic rose to 426 on Tuesday, with a total of 20,627 cases confirmed around the world.
The number of cases in Australia rose to 13, after Queensland confirmed an eight-year-old boy had been diagnosed with the virus.
In Victoria, the number of confirmed cases remained at four. Test results were still pending for 41 people, while another 178 Victorians had been cleared.
None of the 241 people evacuated to Christmas Island via Exmouth on Tuesday were confirmed to have coronavirus, although 14 people were examined as a precaution and two underwent further testing. Two others, a pregnant woman and her partner, were being quarantined in a Perth hospital.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said Australia’s dramatic two-week travel ban for people from mainland China would likely be extended.
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Data released by the Department of Home Affairs revealed more than 100,000 Chinese nationals with student visas had been stopped from travelling to Australia.
The Chinese Embassy in Canberra yesterday criticised the government’s ban on arrivals, with Deputy Ambassador to Australia Wang Xining suggesting a compensation claim could be made.
“We hope (students’) rights and interests will be safeguarded, including proper expansion of visas if the validity is over, and also maybe proper compensation for some of the financial losses during this period,” he said.
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